Twelve Tailed Naruto Challenge
by Belcris
Summary: A challenge based on a failed attempt at a Naruto story. Please see first chapter for details, and the following chapters for the first eight chapters of the story I started. Naruto/OC/Hinata/Anko/Yugao/? Rated M for sheer silly sexiness. Up for adoption or just to be used as an idea to base your own story on. If you use, please tell me?
1. Chapter 0

Twelve Tail Naruto Challenge

For my first ever challenge I decided to hand over a story I started and may yet continue at some point. However, at this time I find that my muse petered out once I reached a "happy ending," of sorts. Part of the problem I have is that I've only read the first half of the Naruto manga and none of the Shippuden Series. (I really need to do that some day soon.) So, with that in mind, let us get to the details of the challenge.

Now, I could try and map out all the details I had in mind when I started, but when I did the whole list was larger than the file containing the story itself. Instead I will post the chapters I finished, no they were never beat'd, and let you get an idea of what I had in mind. I will say this, I was going for sexy, funny, and adventure packed. I just don't know if I managed it.

Oh well, what follows is eight chapters of my story. I will post the eight chapters that I finished, but the ninth sucks so badly that I hold it responsible for killing the muse that had me creating the other chapters in a weekend. Oh well. I may or may not continue this story at some point, so don't bother asking or flaming because this was never the final product, just one of the first rough drafts of a new story. If you do decide to pick up where I left off, or start your own version of it, at least drop me a note to tell me you did so, please?

Thanks...

Enjoy...

Good luck!

Chris :)


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Saying Goodbye

_Naruto..._

_Wake up, silly boy..._

_Your time here is done, time to move on..._

"Sum-buddy turn off the radio," mumbled a voice from the center of a deep crater.

The landscape was alien, at least compared to what it had once been. Where once there were sand dunes as far as the eye could see, now there was glass. A vast sea of frozen glass dunes covered the landscape in all directions, extending to the horizon and probably beyond. Some areas of the glass still glowed a warm orange, where the glass was still cooling, but for the most part the landscape was a dark blackish-blue. Once this land had been called the Land of Wind, but in years to come it would be known as the Frozen Sea.

_It's not the radio, Naruto..._

_But it is a wakeup call..._

_Now, get up! We've got places to be and this isn't one of them!_

"Alright already!" bellowed the young blond teen as he sat up and stretched, yawning as he woke from what he thought was a short nap and bad dream. At lest that's what he thought until he opened his eyes and looked around at the new landscape. "So, not a dream then?"

_Nope!_

"That last attack really happened and I really sealed the Jubi inside myself?" asked the teen, standing up and noticing he was at the bottom of a large crater of melted glass. "You're not Kurama, so who are you?"

_Who do you think, silly? You did seal me inside you after all._

"Jubi?" asked the blond, highly confused by this turn of events as he made his way over to the nearest side of the crater and started to make his way out. "No offense, but weren't you all 'GRRR' and explosions a little while ago?"

_Yeah, about that, you do realize that you had a lot of chakra in your system when you absorbed me, right?_

Naruto nodded as he used his chakra to adhere to the slippery glass and slowly made his way out of the crater. "I had opened the gates, merged with Kurama's chakra, and had some of the other Biju's chakra as well. So, really, when I absorbed you wouldn't that mean you just merged with their chakra again?"

_Not exactly. See, they gave that chakra to you and your body converted it to your own, meaning it was all you there at the end. Sure, I merged with Kurama and the others again, but that left all your chakra floating around inside you. As I am now inside you I absorbed some of the extra chakra, about two tails worth. Which means, I'm no longer the Juubi, but the Junibi(_

_)._

Groaning as he reached the top of the crater's rim, Naruto face palmed, saying, "So, you are now the twelve tailed beast. Great. Any other surprises for me?"

_Well, now that you mention it, there are a few. Obviously I mellowed out a lot after absorbing so much of your chakra and surprisingly enough I found out I'm female. Also, you've been comatose for about a month while you healed, so you're probably going to be really hungry. Oh, and we can't stay in this world._

"What!" shouted Naruto, looking around and seeing it was just now sunrise. "I can tell your female from your voice, but what the heck is this about me leaving this world? I have to go back to my friends! They must really be worried about me if Ive been gone a month!"

_Sorry, Naruto-kun, but you can't go back. This world can't support your power any longer. Remember, I absorbed the extra that was floating around inside you, but your body is still replenishing its chakra reservoirs and at the rate you are going, you'll soon have so much of it that you'll literally crack the planet open with your every step._

"Can't I seal some of it away or something?" asked Naruto, plopping down on the hard glass and staring at the sun rise with moist eyes. "I just want to have a normal life, just once! Is that so much to ask?"

_There is no sealing method powerful enough to hold back your power now, Naruto-kun. I know it's hard, I've seen all your memories and those of Kurama, so I know how difficult this is. Still, you would do more harm than good if you stayed here much longer. What I can do is open a dimensional portal and transport us to someplace that can support our power, someplace where you can start fresh and have the life you want._

Wiping a tear from his eye, Naruto made the hardest decision of his life, the right decision as it would turn out. "Do I have time to send a message to my friends, telling them what happened to me?"

_Yes, but only just._

Creating a mass of clones, several thousand at least, Naruto sent them off to say a final farewell to his friends. The clones were also instructed to help in anyway they could, rebuilding and the like, until they ran out of chakra. In the years to come the Shinobi world would call it the Day of the Blond Tide, as thousands of Naruto clones spread across the continent and did what they could to help as many as they could. The clones would last a month, far longer than anyone could have ever imagined, but in that time they would do more to help the recovering society than could be imagined. Farewells were said, tears flowed freely, and when it was all over the world would be a better place for having had Naruto Uzumaki as a part of it.

After Naruto sent off his clones the Junibi immediately opened the dimensional portal that would take them to a new world. Naruto was of course sleeping for the transfer, even someone as powerful as he was would not have been able to handle the transfer otherwise, so the Junibi took her time to pick just the right world. Knowing how much Naruto cared for and loved his precious people the Junibi, or Momo as she named herself, took great care to find a world that she felt would be perfect for him. Thankfully, for Naruto at any rate, she seemed to have fairly hight standards.

_No, that one won't do at all. Sasuke is a cross dressing bondage fetishist with a fatal obsession directed at Naruto, don't think that will work. This one is almost as bad, what with Itachi being the cross dresser. Wait, Sasuke AND Itachi are cross dressers in this one. _

_Ewwwww! Sakura is a man with Naruto tied up in her basement in this one. Yuck!_

_Oh, this one looks good... Oh... Wait... Ewwwwwwww! Sasuke, Itachi, Kakashi, and Kisame are all cross dressers with a crush on Naruto. What is it with these alternate realities and cross dressing?_

_This one isn't so bad, well except for the fact that Naruto would be gay and dating a cross dressing Sasuke. Again with the cross dressing!_

_Hmmm... Normal reality, no shinobi, no chakra, and no cross dressing. Looks ok... No... Damn! Naruto is the cross dresser in this one. Damn those cute dresses!_

_Naruto is a wizard..._

_Naruto is a god, but dating Sakura... No!_

_Naruto collects funny looking animals and keeps them in balls tied to his belt. Wouldn't be so bad if it was a Pokemon universe, but its not and he's a serial killer._

_Naruto is a space captain dating a cute girl... Oh... No... Hell no... He's pregnant with Sasuke's baby._

_Dating Tobi... No._

_Dating Itachi... No._

_Dating Sakura... No._

_Dating Sakura and Sasuke... No._

_Dating everyone and Sasuke... No._

The list went on and on, almost an infinite number of variations on Naruto's original reality. Some were better than others, but even the best of them had something wrong with them. Whether it be some random super god-like enemy she had never heard of before or Naruto's life being even shittier than it had already been, the list just kept getting shorter and shorter. A few of the worlds she wished she could pick would not accept the influx of Naruto's massive chakra reserves, while other's already had a happy Naruto in them. It was just so hard to find anything that would work for her.

Eventually, after having exhausted the list, Momo began to wonder if maybe she should branch out and look at realities that were not centered around Naruto's past life. She was just about to branch out when she noticed a scrap of paper floating in the void next to her. Considering she was still inside Naruto's mindscape and she knew for a fact she hadn't created the piece of paper, she had to wonder where it had come from. Possibly it was from Naruto's subconscious mind, but that was unlikely as he was currently dreaming about a sea of ramen.

_Could it be from outside his mind? _

Momo was fully aware that there were entities beyond what even she could understand, not that she had ever encountered any of them personally. Still, they existed and it was not inconceivable that one of them might take a hand in helping her out. At least she wanted to hope that was the case. She knew Naruto had suffered and she rather hoped that Kami, or any divine entity for that matter, might want to help him lead a better life. With that hope in mind she reached out and grabbed the paper, reading what was written upon it.

_Slightly larger planet, higher gravity by fifty percent, and a much larger pool of natural chakra. Danzo was killed before Sarutobi was picked as Hokage, so ROOT was never formed. Nagato and Konan actually got married and have a child, that's sweet, Yahiko is the child's godfather. Yondaime Hokage killed Tobi after Kyubi was released, so Akatsuke remained focused solely on freeing Amegakure. He was still forced to seal the Kyubi in..._

_Wait... _

_Is that right?_

_And they had..._

_Oh, yeah, that's going to work out just fine!_

With a smirk on her face, Momo directed the dimensional rift towards their final destination. Sure, no world was perfect, but this one was going to be a lot of fun for herself and Naruto. In fact, while he would have loads of fun in the new world, she would have just as much fun watching events as they played out. In fact, if she played her cards right, she would be having fun for a very long time to come.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Same old... What the...

Naruto woke up feeling a bit groggy as he opened his eyes. The last thing he remembered was Junibi...

_It's Momo!_

Sorry, Momo had just opened an odd swirling hole in the sky and then he had passed out. Next thing he knew was waking up here to the sound of her giggling like a fangirl.

_I'm not a fangirl!_

Whatever!

No he was laying in what looked like his old training ground outside Konoha, the one he had secretly used as a kid. The field, a small meadow really, had looked so much larger when he was little. Now, as a seventeen year old, it looked tiny to him. It was hard to imagine when running around the edge of the meadow had taken him several minutes, where now it would take seconds. Still, those were some of the few good memories he had of that time in his life, even the old man and ramen hadn't been able to cheer him up as much as the peace of this meadow had.

"A good place to start a new life," he mumbled to himself, walking to the center of the meadow and sitting down. "So, Momo, tell me about this world."

_This world is larger and slightly denser than your old one, Naruto-kun. It also has a larger abundance of Nature chakra, so it can deal with your massive reserves, easily. Atmosphere is slightly thicker and the average temperature is a few degrees higher, but nothing to be worried about. It is an alternate version of your original world, which you probably already figured out. Tobi is long dead, but unfortunately so are your parents. Danzo is long dead, never having created ROOT. Sasuke is not a cross dresser, nor is Itachi, but Sakura is still a bitch. _

"I don't even want to know why you found it important to mention that Sasuke and Itachi aren't cross dressers," groaned Naruto, flopping down on his back to look up at the clouds above. "If my parents are dead here, does that mean they sealed Kurama in me here as well?"

_Kinda yeah, kinda no._

"What does that mean?"

_Well, your father did seal Kurama in someone, but it wasn't you._

"So, some other poor kid had to suffer through what I did?" asked Naruto, already feeling bad for the kid.

_It wasn't a kid. Your father used the _Dead Demon Consuming Seal_ here as well, but he sealed Kurama in your mother, Kushina. Seems he lost the argument after she threatened to beat the shit out of him if he tried to seal Kurama in their child. Using that seal, and sealing half of Kurama in himself, when Kushina died she took Kurama with her in death._

"Even winning, I lost here in this world," murmured Naruto as he listened.

_This world's Sarutobi made the same decision as your world, keeping the parentage of the child a secret until they could protect themselves. As in your world, he died when Orochimaru attacked the village during the Chunin Exams, with Tsunade taking over for him as the Fifth Hokage._

"What about Sasuke, did he turn traitor here as well?" asked Naruto as he unzipped his track jacket, it really was warmer here than back home.

_No, in this world it was Sasuke that was born first, with Itachi being the youngest son. Like his brother from your world, he attempted to wipe out his clan, but was killed by his mother before he could kill her or Itachi. With Sasuke's death, Itachi did manage to activate the Mangekyo Sharingan, but with his mother's support and a transplant from Sasuke's body, he became a powerful protector of the village. When Orochimaru attempted to brand him with the Curse Seal after the Chunin Exams invasion, Itachi killed him with Amaterasu before the snake could escape._

"Nice, good for him," Naruto said with a smile. "I'm glad he got some peace in this world."

_He's currently engaged to Ayame, your favorite little ramen waitress._

"Isn't she a bit old for him?" asked Naruto.

_They seem happy, so I wouldn't worry about it too much. Anyway, with the lack of any major threats, Konoha has been extremely prosperous over the last few years. Your counterpart in this world has been a key player in much of that prosperity. Many of the same alliances you formed, they formed as well._

Naruto thought about that for a moment, remembering all the people he had met in his life and the great friends he had gained. "I'm glad he did so well, but how did he die?"

_Die?_

"Well, yeah, you wouldn't have brought me here if I was already alive in this world, would you?"

_Your counterpart in this world is very much alive, Naruto-kun. Trust me, no one will mistake you for them, that I'm sure of._

"What's that mean?" asked Naruto, getting a bit suspicious.

_You'll see. Just head into the village, but remember to hide your headband. You aren't a shinobi here, so no need to draw attention to yourself. _

Grumbling as he got to his feet, Naruto removed his headband and sealed it away inside a storage scroll. Turning towards the nearest road leading to the village, Naruto wondered how he was going to explain his presence in the village. He couldn't use his own name, not if he already existed here, and he couldn't use his father's name. So, what options did that leave him.

_Goof! Just use your own name. Tell Tsunade the truth, the whole truth, and let her deal with the rest. Trust me, when you mention who your parents were and show them that you can enter Sage Mode, they'll believe you fairly quickly. Sure, there they might be suspicious at first, but you'll be fine._

"Can I even enter Sage Mode here?" Naruto asked as he reached the road and turned towards the village. "I mean, I never signed the Toad Contract here, so will I still be able to summon?"

_You may not be able to summon toads here, yet, but Sage Mode is a function of collecting Nature chakra, not summoning. That's got nothing to do with the contract, so you can still do it perfectly._

"True, I kind of forgot about that," admitted Naruto as the gates came into view. "Is Ero-Sage still alive here?"

_Yes, he's still alive here. In fact, he's married to Tsunade._

Naruto stumbled when he heard that bit of news. "Seriously? How drunk was Tsunade when she accepted his proposal?"

_I don't know, but I bet it was pretty drunk if he's half as bad here as he was back in your old world._

"How do you know so much about this world, Momo-chan?" asked Naruto, unaware that the affectionate name caused his tenant to blush.

_W-well, I did a lot of research before picking this world for our new home, Naruto-kun. Still, I couldn't get all the details, so some things will still be a surprise._

What she didn't tell him was that all the information she had was from the piece of paper she had found. Momo thought about telling him about that bit, but didn't want to admit she had based her choice of worlds on a scrap of paper that mysteriously appeared out of nowhere. Luckily, they had reached the gates before Naruto could ask any other questions. Neither of them recognized the guards, but that was to be expected as it was a new world, so there were bound to be new faces around the place. Still, they were both surprised at the way the guards were dressed.

Rather than the standard Chunin attire Naruto was used to, these two guards were wearing shorts with a mesh shirt under their vests. In fact, looking past the guards Naruto noticed that many of the people were wearing oddly modified outfits. Most of them looked better suited to beach attire than regular day wear. Even the few kimonos he saw seemed to be made out of light linen fabric or silk rather than the heavier fabrics he was used to seeing. Naruto assumed it was due to the warm weather, but then remembered Momo had said the average temperature this planet was higher than back on his old world.

"Nature of your visit?" asked the younger looking of the two guards.

"Looking to settle down and maybe join the shinobi forces," responded Naruto, getting a suspicious look from both guards.

"You have shinobi training?" asked the older of the two. "What village are you currently associated with and where did you get your training?"

Naruto knew they were just following procedures, being on guard against possible threats to the village, so he had no qualms about answering. "Yes, I have shinobi training, but I'm not currently associated with any village, nor am I a missing-nin. As for my training, I was apprenticed under a wandering hermit who taught me the majority of what I know."

It wasn't exactly a lie, even if it wasn't the whole truth. "I ask for a meeting with your Hokage to plead my case."

The two guards nodded, the older of the two signaling for an ANBU escort to take Naruto to see the Hokage while the younger just glared at him. "Know this, stranger, if you lie you will die."

"I understand," acknowledged Naruto as two ANBU landed on either side of him.

Once again he was shocked to see the variation in their uniforms, especially the female of the pair. The male agent was once again wearing shorts and a mesh shirt under his vest, but the female was the real eye catcher. Her shorts were VERY short, almost to the point of being bloomers, and her mesh shirt was just as sheer as the male's. Back on his world it was not uncommon for kunoichi to wear mesh, but their's was specially made to give the appearance of being sheer while actually having a flesh colored second layer. It was a distraction technique that most kunoichi used, well all of them except Anko, but she was an exhibitionist at heart.

"Got to be the heat," muttered Naruto, trying not to look at the female ANBU's chest.

_Maybe, but then again they've lived here all their lives, so wouldn't they be used to the heat?_

It only took a few moments to reach the tower once the ANBU realized Naruto could keep up with them. Then it was just a matter of jumping to the roofs and avoiding the civilians. Naruto was surprised to see from this vantage point that the village seemed larger than his old one by at least a factor of three. There were also larger parks spread across the village, along with several numerous public pools spread around. He also noticed a large number of people seemed to be sunbathing on the roofs, male and female. Sure, he had see the like back in his old home, but not to the extent he saw it here. The fact that the people didn't even flinch when he and he ANBU passed by indicated they were not overly concerned with modesty.

_They seem to be very comfortable with their own bodies._

_"That or they're all exhibitionists,"_ thought Naruto, trying not be distracted by the plethora of skin he was currently passing through.

_Possibly._

Naruto pushed that thought from his mind, mainly because it wouldn't do to have a nosebleed when he arrived at the Hokage tower. Speaking of which, he and his escort leapt down to the main entrance to the tower and made their way inside, getting several curious stares form the people around them. Naruto was quickly coming to realize that these people did not seem to have a taboo against showing off their bodies, at least if the numerous examples of revealing uniforms among the shinobi was anything to go by. From what he could see the ANBU wore the most clothing of any of the active shinobi. Regular shinobi wore even less than the ANBU, with the older they got the less they wore.

_"At least the Genin are wearing enough to cover themselves,"_ Naruto thought as he saw one team of youngsters wearing more sensible clothing as they stood next to a Jonin that seemed to only be wearing enough to hold his weapons and supplies. _"Don't think I could deal with seeing kids running around wearing next to nothing. That would just be wrong."_

_It looks to me as if light linen clothing that covers them fully is the rule of thumb until they reach fourteen or fifteen. After that it looks like they can where whatever they want._

_"Old enough to kill, old enough to run half naked through the streets,"_ was his silent reply. _"Doesn't seem too practical. I mean some of these outfits provide zero protection in a fight. Look at that girl, sure she might distract an enemy, but shorts and a bikini top isn't going to stop a kunai."_

_I detect a great deal of chakra saturating the material they use for their clothing, along with an almost constant flow to their skin. The flow to their skin seems to be natural, almost like a natural adaptation to harden their skin and protect them. As for the clothing itself, it's probably made from materials saturated in chakra to make it more resilient. Maybe that's why they don't need as much armor?_

_"Doesn't explain the civilians,"_ countered Naruto as they reached to Hokage's office.

_Civilians always tend to mimic the shinobi when it comes to fashion. Now, remember, act respectful to Tsunade, because she's not the one you remember. Once you explain your presence, then you can be yourself, but not until then. Got it?_

_"Yes, Momo-chan."_

After the ANBU was granted entrance, they all stepped inside and Naruto tried not to let his jaw hit the ground. Yes, this Tsunade looked like the one he knew, but she sure didn't dress the same. While he couldn't see her legs as she was sitting behind her desk, he could see her chest. All of her chest. Where his Tsunade had word a kimono blouse under a green haori, this one wore a translucent green haori over a mesh bodice. Like all the other mesh clothing he had seen so far in this village, the Hokage's mesh served only to support her rather large chest while hiding none of it.

_"Damn! Do you have any idea how hard it's going to be to look her in the eyes?" _Naruto groaned to himself, receiving a giggle in reply from Momo. _"Sure, I'm a normal teenager and had a few dreams about seeing Baa-chan like this, but to actually see it!"_

"My eyes are up here, stranger," commented the Tsunade, eliciting a spectacular rosey hue from Naruto.

"Sorry, Hokage-sama," looking up from her chest and locking on her eyes. "I'm just not used to all of this."

"All of what?" asked the Hokage, leaning forward and resting her chin on her clasped hands.

Groaning, Naruto glanced to either side at the ANBU that had escorted him here. Opening his senses to take in the room he could also detect two other chakra signatures in the room. He recognized two of them immediately. One was Neko, or Yugao Uzuki, an ANBU agent he had worked with a few times during the war. The other was Hebi, or Anko Mitrashi, a close friend of his that had mysteriously vanished towards the end of the conflict. Both women were considered to be two of the most beautiful women in his village and Naruto was a little leery of seeing either of them given the nature of the ANBU uniforms he had seen so far. It just wouldn't do to pass out from blood loss if his nose started bleeding.

Realizing he was going to really be pushing the bounds of Tsunade's ability to trust him, what with the nature of his story, Naruto knew there was only one thing to do. Dropping to his knees and lowered his head till his forehead rested on the floor, Naruto took the most vulnerable position he could before he started to speak. He heard several gasps from the room's occupants, not surprising given it was rare for anyone to make themselves this vulnerable if they had any shinobi training at all. Still, he needed Tsunade to listen to him and if this was how he had to do it, so be it.

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze and I am not from this world," he stated, getting a gasp from Tsunade as well as the others.

How long he spoke was debatable, but he knew his legs had gone numb a long time ago. He started with his childhood, worked his way through his time before leaving with Jiraiya, touched upon his training with the Hermit-sage, and finished off with his part in the war. Silence reigned in the room as he gave the details of his final battle, though he skipped the bit about absorbing the Juubi when Momo pointed out it might not be a good idea to mention her yet. Finally, at Momo's suggestion, he explained that a combination of techniques consisting of Tobi's space-time manipulation and his use of Nature chakra had thrown him from his own world and into this one. Sure, it wasn't the whole truth, but fighting that battle had seen the use of both and had led to him being here, so it was good enough for now.

"Can you prove your story?" asked Tsunade after he finished his story. "And get up off the floor, you're giving me a crick in my neck looking down at you like that."

Standing back up slowly, making sure his hands were at all times visible, Naruto rose back up to feet and looked the Hokage in the eyes. "I can't give you documentation if that's what you want, but I can try to show you anything else you might want to see."

Tsunade seemed to think about that, leaning back in her chair so she could more comfortably look Naruto in the eyes. "Okay, you mentioned you knew the Sage arts, prove it as the first sign that what you say is true."

"Sure, just give me a second to gather some Nature chakra," Naruto said, closing his eyes and going completely still as he started. Given the higher content of Natural chakra in the air it only took him seconds to collect what he needed. "Here you go."

Activating his Sage Mode, Naruto watched as Tsunade's jaw dropped when his eyes changed colors and the orange marking appeared around his eyes. In this mode he now detected a presence just outside the window. This new presence was both familiar and heartbreaking as it belonged to his mentor, Jiraiya. Obviously the man had been summoned by Tsunade when Naruto started telling his story, but after experiencing the death of the man it was hard to stay focused with him being alive here. Letting the transformation fade, Naruto sighed.

"You might as well come in now, Jiraiya," he said with a resigned tone. "I know you're outside the window."

A moment later and an alive and normally dressed Jiraiya climbed in the window, saying, "He told the truth on that one. That was sage mode alright, even better than what I can do with it. Still, if what you say is true, you know another of the Yondaime's techniques."

"I do," agreed Naruto, holding out his hand and creating a perfect Rasengan.

It had taken Naruto a long time to master the Rasengan without need a clone to help him, but he had managed it eventually. Jiraiya stepped forward and examined it closely before stepping back and nodding to Tsunade. She thought about it for a moment, then nodded to the ANBU who all vanished from sight at her signal. Naruto was a bit worried at first, but relaxed once Tsunade opened a drawer and pulled out a bottle of saki. He watched as she took a long swig from the bottle before putting it back on her desk and glaring at him.

"Do you have any idea how much paperwork you are going to cause for me, gaki?" she asked, causing Naruto to smirk. "Not only do you know a S-Ranked secret of the village, you also know two highly guarded techniques. Now I've got to create a background for you, after blood tests and a full physical, but I've also got to have you tested for your ranking in our forces."

"Just use Shadow-clones, Baa-chan," replied Naruto without thinking. "That will solve your paperwork issue."

Tsunade was staring at him open mouthed, whether from what he called her or the solution to her paperwork problem was debatable, but Jiraiya was laughing his ass off. "'Baa-chan!' That's great, brat! I'm so going to remember that!"

"Shut up, you old pervert!" growled Tsunade. "I'll forget the lack of respect, brat, only because you just solved a major headache for me, but don't go thinking you can call me that all the time! Got me!"

"Yes!"

Seeming a bit mollified that she could at least terrorize the young man behind her, Tsunade stood and let Naruto from the room. For his part, Naruto was glad to see Tsunade wearing pants, even if they were shorter than he was used to seeing her wear. Tsunade explained that she would personally do the testing on him, to insure that no one could tamper with the results. That being the case, she led him through a tunnel that connected the Hokage Tower to the Hospital to prevent anyone else from seeing him yet.

"Can I ask a question without sounding too stupid?" asked Naruto as they walked.

"I don't know, kid, can you?" snarked Jiraiya, earning himself a smack on the back of the head from Tsunade.

"Ask," she stated, looking at Naruto.

Thinking for a moment before he spoke, Naruto tried to think of how to word his question without sounding like a pervert or moron. "How is it that so far Jiraiya is the only person I've seen dressing like they did back home? I mean, everyone here dresses so differently than what I'm used to."

Jiraiya snorted, then with a smirk he spoke. "I'm guessing your world has a similar history to ours, right?"

"I guess," replied Naruto, not really sure if it was true or not. "I'm not really sure, but probably. What's that got to do with anything?"

"During the last war our enemies managed to cut us off from our supply lines fairly early on," explained Jiraiya. "We barely had enough food to keep ourselves fed, but other items like iron ore, chakra conductive wood, and cloth we completely ran out of. It was a bad time for us, we recycled as best we could, but unless something was done quickly then we were done for. Our miracle came in the form of my former students love of seals and his desire to protect a certain tomato from harm. Minato, back before he perfected his Flying Thunder God attack, he came up with a solution in the form of the Iron Seal after someone he cared a great deal about was attacked and her weapons failed her. The Iron Seal was a seal that allowed chakra to coat an object, making it hard as iron or even harder depending on how much chakra was focused into it. At first we used it on wooden weapons, surprising our enemies when wooden swords proved stronger than their metal ones."

"It was a turning point in the war," added Tsunade. "We had wood in abundance, thanks to the forest surrounding us, meaning we had an endless supply of weapons at our disposal."

"The seal used trace amounts of the users chakra to power itself to stay active out of combat, but the seal faded if cut off from the first source of chakra it came in contact with if not near it for too long," continued Jiraiya. "It was made that way so no one on the opposing side could duplicate it. Only high ranking Jonin were allowed to carry a Seal Stone, a stone with the seal carved into it as a stamp, with them to make more weapons."

"That's part of the reason we dress like this now," Tsunade explained as they reached the halfway point to the hospital. "As Jiraiya said, things were tough back then. Cloth of any type was hard to come by and the village was forced to use whatever was at hand. It wasn't long before curtains and bed sheets were being collected to make uniforms for our forces. Even that didn't last long and soon we were running around in rags seeing as how we had no new shipments of cloth. The Nara deer were being used to supply us with leather and meat, but their herds weren't large enough to switch completely over to leather clothing. The Aburame clan was pushing their hives to the limit trying to supply us with as much silk as they could, but over time that was retasked to supply us with surgical thread."

_That makes sense, if you think about it, seeing as how that silk would conduct chakra into the wounds and speed up healing._

_"I know, I remember Shizune telling me about that one time," _thought Naruto as he continued to listen.

Tsunade sighed, looking a bit exasperated as she went on with her story. "One of the Jonin carrying a Seal Stone didn't realize he had a hole in his pocket and the seal was accidentally placed on his skin. He didn't even realize what had happened until being struck with a kunai and watching as it bounced off his bare skin."

"Kakashi always has been an idiot," groaned Jiraiya before picking up the story. "When we figured out what happened and that there were no negative results of having the seal placed on our skin, all our forces received the seal. Believe me, it was not a decision we came to lightly. Minato and I looked that seal over for any possible flaw that could harm someone, fearing it might hurt more then help if we got it wrong. In the end we could find nothing wrong with it, so approved the process with Minato himself being the first to have the seal placed on his skin intentionally. Kushina, knowing he had created the seal ultimate to keep her safe, was the second to wear it and turned red as a tomato when he placed the seal over he heart."

Tsunade nodded to an ANBU guard at the door to the hospital who then let them in as she picked up the story. "The seal only lasted a few months before normal wear and tear would mean it would need to be reapplied. Some of the council wanted it to be branded permanently on our forces, but Minato and Jiraiya stopped that one fast.

"Like hell we were going to let them brand kids with a seal," growled Jiraiya, his face looking dark and angry. "It was the Hyuga Elders that pushed for that one, thinking they might be able to sneak a change in the law in that would allow them to start branding non-Hyuga with their damned Caged Bird Seal. Unfortunately there was a sneak attack on the village and the Hyuga Elder Council was killed. We never did find out how someone could sneak in and kill them, then sneak back out unnoticed."

"And the fact that Minato and Kushina were friends with Hiashi and Hizashi had nothing to do with it," scoffed Tsunade. "Those four were thick as thieves before that attack and afterwards the Caged Bird Seal stopped being used. No connection there at all, but that is another story for another day. While all that was going on the first troops with the seal were noticing that the seal might be degrading, but their skin was still protected. That's when we figured out after it faded our chakra pathways had learned to channel chakra to our skin naturally. We started using it on our new graduates from the Academy, meaning by the time they become Chunin they would also have the Steel Skin technique available to them."

"After the war we started getting supplies in again, but the shinobi were so used to running around half dressed that they never bothered switching back to full uniforms," Jiraiya said with a lecherous smirk. "Over the years they started wearing less and less and the civilians have followed the trend. Personally, I don't mind a bit, but no one wants to see my wrinkly old ass in some of the getups these kids wear these days."

"Amen to that," muttered Tsunade, aiming a playful smirk at her husband. "The constant use of the seal caused several side effect as well. The first was greatly increased chakra reserves in our forces because their bodies adapted to the constant use of the seal. Also a huge savings in the budget thanks to needing less cloth for uniforms. We still require full uniforms for some missions outside the village, but inside it you tend to see the more wild outfits."

"Like your counterpart," snickered Jiraiya.

"Oh yeah, what's he like?" asked Naruto as they entered an exam room.

Tsunade and Jiraiya just stopped, looked at each other for a moment, then busted out laughing.

"You'll see," they chorused.

The examination took a few hours, but that was mainly to run DNA testing to see if Naruto was really who he claimed to be. He pretended not to notice the high number of ANBU surrounding the examination room, but he was no fool even if he sometimes acted like one. He knew the room they were in was one of the few they used when enemy shinobi were receiving treatment. The room had hidden entrances on every wall, ceiling, and floor for fast attacks by ANBU that were standing by. There was even a complicated track system in place that would allow the Hokage to have the room lowered down into the holding cells for the T&I division, conveniently located directly bellow them. He knew all of this and normally he would have been offended that Tsunade chose this room for his examination, but this wasn't his Baa-chan no matter how much she looked like her.

"You know," he finally said after Tsunade and Jiraiya made yet another excuse for why the tests results were taking so long, "you could just have Yamato, Hebi, and Neko keep me company until the blood tests come back. We can play some cards, or something, and you can get back to work. Shizune used to tell me the average paternity test took about three hours and knowing you, you'll run it twice."

As he mentioned the name of each ANBU agent Naruto pointed at the wall behind which they were hiding, then pointed at the floor. "Ibiki-san can join too, he's got a killer poker face and I'm sure you want him to ask me some questions anyway, so why not kill two birds with one stone?"

Tsunade had a look on he face like a kid with her hand caught in the cookie jar for a moment, then glared at Naruto. "You know too damned much about this village, brat! Who are you really!"

"Look who's talking, granny," Naruto calmly replied. "You're the one telling me classified village secrets as we walked here, because you thought I was contained in the tunnel. Even after seeing me in Sage mode and using one of my father's prized techniques, you just assumed you had me beat because you're older and Jiraiya is here. Kinda foolish, really, because you forgot to ask yourself a really important question."

Snapping her fingers and summoning a host of ANBU that suddenly all had weapons pointed at Naruto, Tsunade had a look of utter confidence on her face. Jiraiya on the other hand was looking at her and shaking his head, having already figured out there wasn't a thing the ANBU could do if Naruto really wanted to leave. He knew there kid was powerful and thanks to the old man's own sage training, he knew the kid wasn't lying. He also had a clue as to what the important question was that they should have asked.

"Oh, you think I forgot something, brat?" scoffed Tsunade. "Tell me, what's the question I should have asked?"

Grinning from ear to ear, totally unconcerned about the ANBU around him, Naruto answered her. "You should have asked yourself if I knew my father's other technique."

That's all he had to say for everyone to freeze, giving Naruto all the time he needed to vanish in a flash of yellow light. When the spots faded from their eyes the ANBU all looked to Tsunade for orders, but she was too stunned to say anything. There had been the ultimate proof that Naruto was who he said he was, mainly because Minato had designed the Flying Thunder God technique so only his bloodline could use it without needing at least three people to force it to work. If Naruto could use it, something his counterpart here in this world could not do, then it was proof that he was who he said he was. That thought in mind, not to mention a sense of guilt and dread, Tsunade turned to speak with Jiraiya only to find he was gone as well. Hopefully, if she was really lucky, Jiraiya would find Naruto and make this right before the boy met his counterpart.

"No, that wouldn't be a good thing..."


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Twist

Naruto was sitting on top of the Hokage Monument looking out over the village and smiling. This world had not seen a Fourth Shinobi War and so did not carry the scars that his world had. Sure, according to Tsunade and Jiraiya it had still seen some hard time, they had managed to pull through and overcome the obstacles. Once again his father had proved to be a hero in the Third Shinobi War, though it wasn't just for his combat abilities this time. It was rather surprising that he had created a seal that eventually led to a whole culture of exhibitionism as a result, but shinobi tended to be pretty strange anyway, so it wasn't that odd.

_Tsunade said he ultimately created it to protect your mother, even if she didn't say it in so many words, but it fits with what we know of him._

_"That's true," _agreed Naruto as he noticed a chakra signature walking up behind him. "Didn't figure it would take you long to find me, Jiraiya."

"What, no annoying nicknames?" asked the old hermit as he walked over and sat down next to Naruto.

Naruto shrugged, then turned and gave the old man a sad smile. "Nah, you're not my Pervy-sage, just look like him. Tsunade drove that point home back in the examination room. She looks like my Baa-chan, but she's not her."

Jiraiya nodded, understanding the sadness that Naruto was exuding. "True, but your little display back there proved you are your father's son. That technique was designed so only his family, specifically his children, could use it. Sure, he created a modified version for his personal guard to use, but that takes at least three of them to use and they have sworn never to tell anyone how it's done. The moment you vanished we all knew beyond a doubt you were telling the truth. Oh, Tsunade-hime is going to be pissed you called her on it by pointing out what she was doing, but she'll calm down soon enough."

"Maybe, maybe not, we'll see," replied Naruto with a sad smile. "Either way, I'll never get to see my Baa-chan again."

"True, but that doesn't mean you can't make new bonds here in this world," Jiraiya pointed out. "I know you said I was dead in your world, but I already think we'll get along just fine in this one."

Naruto thought about that for a few moments, remembering when he heard about his mentor's death. "It was hard finding out Pervy-sage died, really hard. Seeing you here is strange. Your chakra feels like his and you act like him, but it's not exactly the same."

"Different life experiences and all that are going to make it a bit different, but not something you can't overcome," advised the old hermit. "Just like I can tell you aren't your counterpart here in this world, for multiple reasons, but that doesn't mean I don't want to get to know you. I can tell your life was a lot different in your world. Not just from how powerful you are, even if you are suppressing the greater part of your chakra you still stand out amongst the crowd like a beacon."

Jiraiya went silent for a moment, then turned a serious eye towards the young blond. "Your father sealed it in you, didn't he?"

Naruto thought about lying, but knew the old man would be able to tell if he did, so he nodded before explaining. "He did. He and mom died in my world, just like here, but he sealed half of Kurama's chakra in me."

"Kurama?"

"That was the foxes name," explained Naruto wistfully. "Later on a group of nuke-nin attempted to collect all the Biju in an attempt to take over the world and resurrect the Juubi. The Fourth Shinobi War was all about us trying to stop them, with myself becoming the primary weapon against them. Kurama became my partner and friend during the war and eventually we won, but Kurama was lost to me. The only way to defeat the madman that started the whole war was to rip the Juubi from him and seal it inside myself."

"Kami!" exclaimed Jiraiya, going pale at the thought of it. "You carry that monster with you now?"

"Not exactly," Naruto said, feeling that he might as well tell the whole truth. "I had already been granted trace amounts of all the other Biju's chakra, that and my own massive reserves combined with the Juubi and it created something new. I've got Junibi instead of the Juubi, a combination of the Jubi and the two tails worth of chakra I had in my system at the time I absorbed her."

"Her?"

Naruto nodded, saying, "Yeah, her. She named herself Momo and she's pretty cool. Nowhere near as crazy as Kurama was at first and a far cry from the monster the Jubi was. I've not actually met her face to face yet, so I don't know what type of animal she represents."

_I can fix that if you lend me a shadow clone, Naruto-kun._

"She says we can meet her right now, if you want to?"

"Umm, sure," Jiraiya said, looking a bit nervous.

Making the required hand sign to create a shadow clone, Naruto felt Momo's chakra flowing into the construct rather than his own. In a puff of fire lace smoke, a large red and gold bird suddenly appeared in the are before them. The bird, something like a cross between an eagle and a swan, soared through the air for a moment with her twelve featherer tail flowing out behind her. When she finally landed in front of them, Naruto noticed she had the same shade of blue for her eyes that he did.

_Greetings, Naruto-kun and Jiraiya-san, I'm Momo!_

"You're beautiful, Momo-chan!" exclaimed the young man, getting a look of embarrassment from the bird. "What type of bird are you supposed to be?"

_I'm a phoenix, Naruto-kun. _

"Children of Kami and symbols of purity and hope," muttered Jiraiya before he spoke up fully. "A pleasure to meet you, Momo-san."

_Same here!_

Momo hopped over to Naruto and landed on his lap, rubbing her head against his cheek as Naruto stroked her plumage. Jiraiya was a bit shocked at the display of affection coming from the most powerful Biju to ever exist, but tried not to run screaming at the sheer amount of power the two exuded. Not even the Kyubi had given off this kind of power and most of what he was currently feeling was actually coming from the young man sitting next to him. Yep, Naruto was going to be a true powerhouse in this world.

"What about the other Biju in this world, are they still here?" he asked, a little worried about what Momo's presence might mean for his world.

_I can feel them all except Kurama, there is no trace of him left in this world. I can also feel the Jubi's body in the moon above us, but it is truly dead now. It probably died when Kurama did as it still drew chakra from them even after it was separated into the nine Biju. Once Kurama was gone, there was not enough chakra to keep the body alive, so there are no worries about it being brought back to life._

"What about you, now that you are here, couldn't it be revived?" asked the old man, trying to understand what he was hearing.

_Nope, it's gone for good. I'm a being of pure chakra, meaning I never had a body in this world or my old one. Even if I tried to inhabit that old body, it would be destroyed by my power. That and it was just icky, corrupted beyond all ability to purify it._

"So, I can't free you and let you live your own life?" asked Naruto, not wanting to think Momo was trapped inside him forever.

_I'm not really sealed inside you like Kurama was, Naruto-kun. If I wanted to I could leave at any time without killing you, but I like it here. In a way you are my home now and I like my home just fine!_

"Yes, well that's good, I guess," Jiraiya said, looking a bit confused. "What about when the kid dies, cause no one lives forever."

_Oh, that's not going to be a worry for a long time, Jiraiya-san. Naruto is an Uzumaki and you know they can be just full of surprises._

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Naruto, looking a bit confused as he continued to stroke Momo's feathers.

_Don't you worry about it, Naruto-kun._

With that the phoenix vanished in a puff of smoke, leaving the two men a little confused. Naruto tried asking for more details from Momo, but she would just giggle, never answering his questions. All she would say is that the other Biju would eventually seek her out, but she would make sure they knew not to cause trouble anymore. This left the two humans a bit concerned, but what could you actually say to a massively powerful chakra being? In the end they changed the topic and compared notes about their lives.

As it turned out Jiraiya in this world had also taken Naruto's counterpart as his apprentice. Unlike in Naruto's world, there had not been a need to take his counterpart from the village for three years, so the two of them had trained at home. This world's version of Naruto had participated in a second Chunin exam and been promoted, later becoming a Jonin and taking on various missions on their own. In fact, they were out of the village right now, but expected back at any time.

Naruto explained that in his world he had never gotten the chance to retake his Chunin test, so even after all this time he was technically still a Genin. Sure, he had eventually led the Shinobi forces against the clone army and been considered the commander of the shinobi forces, but he was never officially promoted. It was a bit of a sore point for him, the fact he was looked to for orders by all the Kages, but held the lowest rank of all of them. Jiraiya just laughed telling Naruto they would fix that after they tested his skills as a shinobi.

"If even half your skills are at the level you describe, you'll be a Jonin by this time tomorrow," advised Jiraiya. "Tsunade might be a bit grouchy at the moment, but she's a woman of her word and she will treat you fairly, brat."

"That's good to hear," Naruto replied with a grin. "I haven't worn my headband because this isn't my village, but I feel a bit under dressed without it."

"Who are you kidding, brat, you're overdressed these days," joked Jiraiya. "As soon as you get done testing I'll give you the Steele Skin seal, not that you probably need it with your Sage Mode, then you can run around half naked like the rest of these idiots."

"Is that the real reason they dress like they do, cause I don't think I can bring myself to dress like them," countered Naruto, blushing as he remembered some of the outfits he had already seen.

"Nah, there's more to it," the old man answered. "I think the real reason is because everyone was so relieved they made it through the war they just decided to be a bit looser attitude-wise after the war. Birth rates went through the roof after the war, we doubled the population of the village within two years. I got rich off my books, more so than before, as people seemed to accept their sexuality more. Average age around here for starting a family is now seventeen, sometimes sixteen, for most people. Shinobi tend to be healthier in that regard and I've seen a few fifteen year olds getting married, though they tend to wait until they are seventeen to start a family. Doesn't mean they aren't having sex, just that they know they need to be cautious about having kids too young. Hell, your counterpart has been in a stable relationship since they were eleven."

"Wow!" laughed Naruto with a grin. "I didn't even know what girls were back then, but I've got a question for you. Why don't you call the me in this world by name around me? What's up with that?"

"Want to keep it as a surprise, brat," explained the old hermit. "Trust me, you'll understand when you see them. Got to let an old man have a few laughs, don't you?"

"Yeah, whatever," grumbled Naruto, pouting. "As long as they don't turn out to be like Sasuke-teme, I'm good with that."

"No, your counterpart is nothing like that traitor," Jiraiya informed him, looking dead serious. "Sasuke here was an arrogant little prick that thought his eyes and his family made him better than everyone else. He was ok until he activated his eyes at eleven on a mission, Itachi activated his eyes at three, but after that Sasuke just seemed to go nuts. He was fourteen when he tried to wipe out his family. Damn near pulled it off, but Itachi distracted him for a moment and his mother stabbed him through the heart from behind."

"So, it wasn't an order from the Council to stop a revolt by the Uchiha?"

Jiraiya shook his head sadly, saying, "No, they had a revolt planned, but it was based upon Itachi getting older and being used as their primary weapon against the village. Sasuke was only an average shinobi, a fact he could not tolerate. When he found out that his clan was going to revolt and take over the village he was all for that, but when he figured out they wanted Itachi to lead them, well that was too much for him. He poisoned the majority of the clan, but he wanted to personally kill his family. He managed to ambush his father, but Itachi and his mother heard the commotion and were ready for him."

"Sounds a lot like my Sasuke," muttered Naruto. "He was always so sure he was the best, but when you proved he wasn't he would fly off in a rage. Finding out his whole clan looked down on him would have driven him over the edge."

Jiraiya nodded, sighing as he looked out over the village. "Itachi was heartbroken, he may not have liked his brother all that much, but he loved him all the same. Thankfully the kid's mother was able to help him deal with it, otherwise I would have been worried for the kid."

There was silence for a few moments before Jiraiya started speaking again. "You mentioned Nagato, Konan, and Yahiko earlier and what they became later in life. Difference here was I didn't leave them behind after I found them. Here I brought them back to Konoha with me. They were my first genin squad, before they returned home and freeing Ame. Ame is currently our strongest ally next to Suna, both of whom we've shared the Steele Skin Seal with. Nagato is the leader of his village and married to Konan. Yahiko is dating Shizune, she's there now visiting him."

"Good for them!" cheered Naruto with a grin. "He's a relative, sort of, so I want to see Nagato be happy. Does he still use the Paths of the Rinnegan?"

Jiraiya shook his head, "Not anymore. He did when they were fighting to free Ame, using the bodies of fallen enemies against their former comrades, but retired them after winning. He still has them, sealed away in case there is ever a need for them, but for the most part he believes in using his own hands rather than 'tricks,' as he calls it."

"Did the me in this world defeat Gaara like I did?"

"From the way you described that battle, the only difference is that my apprentice used a different means to wake the kid up," Jiraiya said with a smirk. "The kid couldn't reach him physically, so used a water ballon to the face to do it instead. Lucky thing I was teaching them the Rasengan at the time and they had several sealed in a scroll for practice."

Naruto had to laugh at that one, it was something he would have thought of. "Did Gaara change after that, still become the Kage for Suna?"

"Sure did," answered the old man with a grin. "The gaki is probably the best leader his village has ever had. He's managed to turn around their whole economy and strengthened ties with us."

"What about Kabuto? What happened to him after the invasion?"

Jiraiya looked over at Naruto with a look of confusion on his face. "What about him, he vanished afterwards. We assume he was killed when Orochimaru's summons attacked the wall he was guarding."

"Umm, you do know he was a traitor to the Leaf in my world, right?"

Jiraiya started swearing, standing up and starting to pace. "Son-of-a-bitch! That explains why so many of our forces died in that area! He probably helped the summons to break down the wall. We never found his body, but we never found a lot of those bodies, so we just assumed he was dead as well."

"In my world he had a technique for bringing the dead back to life, something Orochimaru-pedo taught him. He was one of the worst foes we faced during our war. He actually implanted some of Orochimaru-pedo's body in his own and started turning into the old snake faced bastard."

Now Jiraiya was really swearing, looking both pissed off and like he had just had a revelation. "That explains so many of the reports I've been getting out of Oto these last few years. We know they have a new leader, but we have never been able to find out who it is. If Kabuto did the same thing here that he did in his world it could be really bad!"

Naruto nodded, remembering some of the problems he had run into against Kabuto back home. "He's a piece of work, that's for sure. If he's doing the same type of things here, we need to take him out fast."

_He is, Naruto-kun. I can feel that dark stain on this world's chakra flows._

"Crap!" barked Naruto, turning to pass the news onto Jiraiya. "Momo says she can feel it in the chakra flows of the planet, he's doing the same stuff here."

"I'll tell Tsunade, who will pass it on to the other Kages right away," Jiraiya said as he turned towards the stairs leading to the village bellow. "You stay here for now, if I need you I'll call for you. Later we've got to get your name on the Toad Contract, Ma and Pa will love to meet you. I'll calm Princess down, make sure she accepts you are telling the truth, then we'll probably need more details about the type of sick shit that little prick used in your world."

"Don't tell her about Momo, please?"

Jiraiya nodded, accepting that the kid had the right to some secrets. "I won't tell her, brat. You probably should consider it at some point, though."

"Yeah, I'll tell her when I get to know her better," replied Naruto with a sad smile.

"Give it time, brat," advised the old hermit with a smile. "She's a good person, just like the one you knew. Meanwhile, go get some ramen or something. I've got a hunch you'll meet someone there you've been dying to see."

"Oh?"

"Trust me kid, you're in for a surprise!"

With that the old man vanished, leaving Naruto to wonder who he might meet at the ramen stand. It finally occurred to him that about the only person he would want to meet, especially one that would be eating ramen, would be his counterpart in this world. With that in mind he jumped up and made his way to his favorite eating establishment. He was so excited that he forgot he could just Shunshin there, so ran like a madman down the stairs and off to meet his 'brother.'

Meanwhile, Jiraiya had just arrived in Tsunade's office and found her gazing into a large crystal ball. Knowing that she had been watching and listening to everything he and the kid had been talking about, he just flopped down on a couch and waited for her to speak. It took a few minutes, but eventually she looked up at him with a sad smile.

"I won't do anything about him containing this Momo character," she finally said. "I want to, as the Hokage it is so tempting to want to make him a weapon for the village, but then he would never forgive me."

"No, he wouldn't and neither would I, Princess," confirmed Jiraiya, all traces of the goofy pervert gone from his face. "I could tell he was speaking the truth before you decided to 'test' him, but you seemed hell bent on ignoring me. You push that kid and he's liable to leave the village forever and you'll never get a chance to know him. He reminds me so much of his father it's damned scary, but he's got that look in his eyes like Kushina used to. Combine both those factors with the plain and simple truth that he's got more chakra in his pinky than all the Kages combined, makes him someone you do not want to piss off."

"He's really that dangerous?"

"No, dangerous is not the issue," countered Jiraiya. "He would never raise a hand against this village, but neither would he ever help it either. He's seen the wars, literally and emotionally. I really looked into his eyes up there and I can tell he's carrying around a lot of emotional baggage, just like we were after the war. Give him a bit of trust and affection and he'll be your best defense against anything this world can throw at you. Try to make him a weapon and he'll walk away and leave you to rot. I won't lie, you do that to him and I'll go with him."

Tsunade looked shocked at Jiraiya's declaration. "You would choose that boy over me and this village?"

"If you try to make him a weapon, in a heartbeat," confirmed the old hermit. "If you do that, you aren't the woman I fell in love with. You're just another politician looking to get powerful off the abilities of other people, just like the Council tried to do with us, Nagato, Minato, Kushina, and my apprentice. I won't stand for it now, just like I wouldn't stand for it then."

Nodding sadly, Tsunade had to agree with him. "You're right. We didn't let it happen to others, so how can I do it to him. I just don't know how to feel about him. I mean, what do we do about him?"

"I'll tell you the same thing I told him, give him a chance," advised Jiraiya with a smile. "I can tell he's a good kid and he's already helping us, more than he know, just by being here."

"You mean the news that Kabuto is alive and moving against us from the shadows?"

"You got it in one, Princess," Jiraiya smiled. "Kid just filled a plot hole I've been dealing with for ages. Now we know what we're looking for and can warn the others before it's too late."

Naruto had just reached the Ichiraku ramen stand when he noticed Ayame sitting on a stool next to a younger looking Itachi. It really was Itachi, just younger, which ruled out Naruto's musing on whether Sasuke's parents had just reversed the names. No, this was a younger and happier looking Itachi Uchiha. Thankfully he wore a more respectable outfit than some of the other shinobi Naruto had seen, looking much like the outfit Sasuke wore before turning traitor, only his shirt was sleeveless and he didn't wear as many bandages. Ayame on the other hand was wearing a much shorter skirt and sleeveless version of what his Ayame wore at home, though she wore a regular apron over it.

Taking a seat at the counter, Ayame turned from her boyfriend and gave Naruto a warm smile. "Welcome to Ichiraku Ramen, what will you have to eat."

Walking back behind the counter, Ayame pulled out an order pad to write his order down as he started speaking. "I'll have five miso, five beef, five chicken, and a vegetable ramen!"

The look of shock on Itachi and Ayame's faces was priceless, but only Itachi spoke. "You've got to be kidding me! You're just like Uzumaki!"

"Yeah, that's me, Naruto Uzumaki at your service!" Naruto shouted with a smile. "Just arrived in the village and heard this it the best ramen anywhere!"

"Seriously?" asked Itachi. "Red's going to have a cow when they find out about you."

Ayame, letting her boyfriend ferret out the gossip, started preparing Naruto's order as Itachi kept talking. "I'm Itachi Uchiha, nice to meet you, Naruto-san."

"Nice to meet you as well," Naruto replied, holding out his hand to shake the one Itachi was holding out to him. "I've heard about your family, sorry about that by the way."

Itachi shrugged, looking a bit sad. "It's okay, I'm over it. They weren't that great anyway. I didn't know it back when it happened, but they had plans to cause a civil war here in the village. My brother was a twisted fuck, but he actually did the village a service killing them off. My mom and me, we're going to rebuild the clan into what it should have always been, a good and honorable one."

"I'm going to help as well," added Ayame as she brought the first of Naruto's orders to him. "Itachi-kun and I are getting married as soon as he turns eighteen."

A wide grin on his face, Itachi nodded. "Yep, then we're going to have a big family. Twenty, maybe thirty kids!"

"Two or three, goof," teased Ayame, swatting her boyfriend on the arm as she turned to get the rest of Naruto's order. "Your mom already told me not to push it with you. We've got years ahead of us and don't need to repopulate the whole clan by ourselves."

"Yeah, but I've got you and that's enough," Itachi agreed before turning to Naruto to explain. "Before Tsunade-sama fired the old Civilian Council, they wanted to sign me up for the Clan Restoration Act. Effectively they wanted me to have kids with my mother, they said to keep the bloodline pure, but we shot that one down. I mean it might be fine for the Hyuga to inbreed, but no way was I doing that with my mom. That's just too weird."

"Yeah, they make it work because they've got a large family to pick with, so marrying a distant cousin is ok, but even they don't expect parents and their kids to have children together," added Ayame as she dropped off the rest of Naruto's order, clearing the ten bowls he had already finished. "Sure, they have several brothers and sisters married to each other, but that's rare."

Naruto nodded, remember that before his death Neji had confided in him that the Hyuga Elders were pushing for him to marry Hinata or Hanabi. At the time it had seriously creeped him out, but Hinata later explained that inbreeding in such a large clan was much like breeding animals, sometimes you had to cross the lines to strengthen certain traits. It was never done to extremes to prevent overbreeding which could lead to birth defects and a weakened bloodline, but it did happen.

"My mom told me after I graduated that my father was also her brother," continued Itachi as Naruto ate. "The moment I heard that I told her we were changing the Clan Charter so that could never happen again. She never really liked being forced to marry her brother, but she loved him anyway, so she was cool with it. Still, she agreed that changing the charter might be a good thing for future generations, to keep the inbreeding to a minimum."

"Dude, that's messed up," Naruto finally said, finishing the last of his order. "Sounds like the Hokage did right by you guys in the end by firing the old Civilian Council. I gotta ask though, do you always tell this much of your Clan dealings to total strangers?"

Itachi and Ayame froze, each realizing how much they had just told to a self admitted total stranger. Sure, he seemed friendly, but what did they really know about him other than his name. Itachi thought about it for a moment, then realized he trusted the young man sitting next to him, even though he had never met him before. It was strange, but this Naruto reminded him of someone.

"I guess you remind me of someone," Itachi finally said, looking closer at Naruto.

"Oh yeah, who would that be?" asked Naruto, leaning back and patting his now full belly.

"My old Genin teammate," answer Itachi with a smirk. "She was a pain in the ass, always bragging about how she was going to be Hokage someday. I won't lie, I had a crush on her for a long time, but she hooked up with our other teammate and they've been together for years now."

"ITACHI!"

"Speak the demon's name, and she will appear," groaned Itachi, burying his face in his hands.

Naruto turned to see who had just shouted out Itachi's name and damn near fell off his stool at what he saw. Two young women were walking towards the Ramen stand, one of which he recognized immediately as Hinata Hyuga. Unlike his Hinata, the shy and quite girl that he had started to have feeling for before the last battle of his war, this one was anything but shy if her outfit was anything to go by. Gone was the baggy coat and long loose pants. In their place this Hinata wore a lavender track jacket that only hung down to the bottom of her ribcage, unzipped and revealing a mesh tank top underneath it that concealed nothing at all. Rather than pants she wore skintight lowrise black short shorts with a silver buckle on the front. Oddly, rather than sandals she wore some type of canvas shoe with rubber soles. It was clear this Hinata was anything but shy, and was definitely female.

However, it was the second figure that really drew his attention. Sure, there were some differences, but he recognized her immediately. That didn't mean he wasn't confused. Starting from the head down, he took in her appearance and realized why no one had told him anything about his counterpart in this world, it was because here, he was a she! In fact, other than the fact she had red hair rather than blond, she was a dead on match for his old prank technique that he had used against perverts. Waist length red hair the same color as his mother's had been, was tied back in two pigtails over her ears. Her blue eyes, the same as his own, and the matching whisker marks on her cheeks, made her look extremely cute as she stood looking at him with her mouth hanging open. That's were things got interesting, because from the neck down she went from cute to dead sexy. To start with she was wearing black sleeveless track jacket that only reached down to barely cover the bottom swell of her rather impressive breasts, held closed only by the bottom of the zipper. Unlike Hinata, his counterpart did not wear anything under the jacket, meaning her cleavage was clearly visible. From the bottom of the jacket began a very nice stretch of skin, revealing a toned stomach, he noticed she had a naval piercing, that was cut off by what he assumed was supposed to be a skirt. Made up of two squares of material about eight inches wide and ten long, one in front and he hoped one in back, the material covered her more private areas while leaving her hips and thighs uncovered. Only a chain of large steel rings connected the front and back of the outfit, meaning you could see her incredibly long legs with no interference from clothing. Like Hinata she also wore rubber soled canvas footwear.

"Who the hell are you?" demanded the young woman, pointing a finger at Naruto accusingly.

"I'm Naruto," he said, noticing that her nails were not the manicured pieces of art that a fangirl would wear. No, they might be painted black, but they were rough and chipped, showing that she was a real kunoichi and not some weak little shinobi wannabe. "Naruto Uzumaki. Who are you?"

The girl looked shocked by his name, but then pulled herself back together again, looking at him with a challenging glint in her eyes. "I'm Mito Uzumaki, but what I want to know is if you are an Uzumaki, where the hell have you been all my life!"


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Define Family...

"I'm Naruto," he said, noticing that her nails were not the manicured pieces of art that a fangirl would wear. No, they might be painted black, but they were rough and chipped, showing that she was a real kunoichi and not some weak little shinobi wannabe. "Naruto Uzumaki. Who are you?"

The girl looked shocked by his name, but then pulled herself back together again, looking at him with a challenging glint in her eyes. "I'm Mito Uzumaki, but what I want to know is if you are an Uzumaki, where the hell have you been all my life!"

That should have been the beginning of a long conversation, but Neko had arrived at the point to summon Naruto back to the Hokage's office. Mito had wanted to follow, but Neko informed the rather confused girl that as of right now it was a village secret. This had led to a rather hasty exit for Naruto from the ramen stand, not even getting to talk with this version of Hinata. Still, there were compensations for the hasty exit, mainly in the form of watching Neko's backside as she leapt from rooftop to rooftop in the tightest pair of skintight grey shorts Naruto had ever seen. Honestly, they were so tight he figured she might have just painted them on and given the predilection of the people around here, she just might have.

_"I managed to make it this far without becoming a pervert, but one day in this village and I'm quickly losing the battle,"_ Naruto thought to himself as his eyes were riveted to Neko's bouncing backside.

_At least you aren't acting on it, yet. Remember, there is nothing wrong with admiring beauty or indulging in sexual thoughts, that's not perverted. It's like the old joke, kinky is using the feather, but perverted is using the whole chicken._

_"I'm not even sure what that means, but just the thought of it makes me queasy,"_ groaned Naruto. _"I may never be able to eat chicken flavored ramen again."_

Reaching the Hokage's tower, Neko let Naruto to Tsunade's office fairly quickly. Watching her backside sway as the climbed the stairs left him grateful that his pants were fairly baggy. It didn't help that she wore modified ANBU chest armor that left her belly bare and served to accent her chest more than anything else. Still, he found himself reviewing what he knew so far of the Steel Skin Seal. If it left the person's skin hard as Steel, harder if they focused more chakra on it, then why wear armor at all? Part of it had to be intimidation factor, but he wondered how much of it was distraction tactics to make it hard for the enemy to focus during a fight.

"We're here, Uzumaki-san," announced Neko, opening the door to Tsunade's office.

Nodding, Naruto smiled at the young woman, saying, "Thank you, Neko-chan."

Stepping into the office with Neko following after him, then taking her station to the side of the office, Naruto noticed that there was a new face here now. Along with Tsunade and Jiraiya, the ANBU guards were the same as before, there was was a proud looking woman sitting on one of the couches. She looked vaguely familiar with her long black hair and dark eyes, reminding Naruto of someone, though he couldn't really tell who. The woman wore the traditional robes of a Clan head, consisting of a kimono with a haori over top, but as with everyone else this one was made of light linen rather than the heavier fabrics he was used to. She was without a doubt a beautiful woman and her lightweight clothing revealed an impressive figure, even sitting. Still, he just could not help but think he knew here from somewhere.

"Naruto, let me introduce you to one of my advisors, Mikoto Uchiha," Tsunade explained, getting a nod from the woman at her introduction.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Uzumaki-san," Mikoto said, standing and holding out a hand to Naruto. "Tsunade has given me a brief rundown of your circumstance and I wanted to welcome you to our village after hearing about you."

Taking her hand and shaking it, Naruto smiled. "You're Itachi's mom, right? I just met him at the ramen stand. Nice to meet you!"

"Yeah, niceties aside, brat, we need to talk to you," cut in Jiraiya, looking serious. "Mikoto here knows your true heritage, so we wanted to bring her into this conversation. See, we know you just met Mito, but we wanted to talk to you before you got to friendly with her."

"Is there a problem with me getting to know her?" asked Naruto, a bit confused at how seriously they were all looking at him.

"Yes and no, kid," Tsunade said, leaning forward on her chair and resting her chin on her clasped hands. "See, we have not informed Mito of her heritage yet, mainly because we didn't want to put any pressure on her to continue her family bloodline. She's knows she is, or was before you arrived, last Uzumaki in the village, but not that she is the last Namikaze as well."

"Even with the old Civilian Council being disbanded, the Fire Daiymo would push for her to be made a part of the Clan Restoration Act if he found out about her true parentage," Mikoto explained. "The Namikaze, before they were virtually wiped out in the opening days of the Third Shinobi War, were a powerful Clan. The majority of that power came from the fact they were merchants and traders around the Elemental Country. They amassed phenomenal riches over the years, most of which was invested in Fire Country and Konoha in general. That was why they were targeted by enemy forces at the beginning of the war, to prevent them from using their riches to financially cripple the other side."

"Iwa in particular used their deaths to take control of the Namikaze assets within their borders," continued Tsunade. "After the war, with only Minato left, he tried for years to get his property back from them, but they denied him every time. Considering they hated him with a passion for the way in which he decimated their troops with his Flying Thunder God attack, he let it go in an attempt to appease them."

"Doesn't mean they wouldn't try to kill you and Mito if they knew who your father was," cut in Jiraiya.

"So, no revealing who my father is," supplied Naruto, looking a little down at the thought of still not being able to claim his heritage.

"Didn't say that, brat," Tsunade countered, shocking Naruto. "Blood tests proved you are who you say you are, combined with the fact you can use your Father's technique without needing other people to help you do it, like the Guard Platoon does, means you are without a doubt a Namikaze. I admit it, I was skeptical at first, but you proved me wrong. With that in mind, and now that there are two Namikaze living in the village, Mito is safe from being forced into the CRA. So, what we would like to do, after your testing tomorrow, is to have you present while we inform her of her parentage."

Naruto thought about that for a moment, he and Mito would be safe from being forced to marry someone not of their choosing, which was great. It would also mean he would finally be able to tell people his father was the fourth, or at least let Mito do so. He was a bit more complicated as people would know he wasn't the Fourth's son, at least in this world, so he would still not be able to tell anyone.

"She will be able to claim her heritage, but I won't," he finally said. "No one that knew my mom was pregnant would buy that I was somehow a lost twin. It just won't work."

Jiraiya nodded, then explained their plan to Naruto. "See, we realized that as well, kid. So, we're going to tell them you are the child of Minato's twin brother, Arashi. Arashi's body was never found after the attack on the Namikaze in the Fire Capital, so it's possible he could have survived. We do actually know he died, Minato actually saw it happen, but no one else knows that. We're going to tell people he survived, but was gravely injured and spent the rest of his life living in secret because of lasting complications due to those injuries."

"Later he married an Uzumaki girl," continued Mikoto, "your mother's cousin to be precise. You are the result of that marriage, but unfortunately your parents both died the night of the Kyubi attack. From there it's just a matter of fabricating a bit of background for you, like the fact you grew up in a small village on the other side of Fire Country, and everything else can be kept the same."

"That will be the public history," added Tsunade when Mikoto finished speaking. "Jiraiya's spy network can have the proper paperwork forged and in place fairly quickly, to prove you exist. Personally, amongst your friends and family, you can tell them the truth if you want. I'ld be careful with that information and who you share it with, but you get the idea."

"So, I'm still a Namikaze-Uzumaki, just not the Fourth's son," summarized Naruto, making sure he got it right. "I'm a long lost nephew, which explains how I look like dad, but I just recently came to this village. I can live with that."

"Good, because Arashi was the heir to the Namikaze Clan, he was born before Minato, so you are now the heir to their fortune," Mikoto said with a smirk. "Honestly, that works out better for Mito as she won't have to worry about being hounded by marriage proposals from jerks out to get her money, though you might."

"Meh! I'm used to it," countered Naruto with a shrug. "I had already promised to help the Priestess from the Land of Demons have a kid, not to mention several others, so I'm used to it."

"Shion, the bitchy little girl that Mito saved from the demon?" asked a stunned Tsunade. "She asked you to father her children? And you agreed? Wow! She hated Mito with a passion, only tolerating her after Mito helped her defeat the demon."

"Shion isn't so bad, at least the one I knew wasn't," argued Naruto. "She's had a hard life and just needs someone to show her life isn't such a pain in the ass as she thinks it is."

"Note to self, write a book about Naruto's adventures," Jiraiya mumbled to himself, pulling out a notebook and starting to write.

"Nothing pervy, old coot!"

"Whatever, brat!"

"Anyway," cut in Tsunade, giving Jiraiya a dirty look, "I'm assigning two of my ANBU as your guards for now. No, it's not to try and hurt you, but as you're not a shinobi yet and you're new to the village, you have to go through a probationary period."

Naruto had expected that, he just hoped he didn't get some stuck up pricks as his guards. "I'm good with that. Who you got in mind."

"Neko! Hebi!" commanded Tsunade, with Neko stepping forward and Hebi stepping out of the shadows. "Remove your masks!"

It was a bit of a shock to see Hebi, or Anko as he knew her to be, step forward. Naruto, if he was really honest, expected her to just walk around naked given his experience with her in his world. Instead she was quite the opposite. This Anko wore a black top that covered her from the neck to her belly button, granted it looked painted on, but was a far cry from the see through mesh he was used to. Instead of her trench coat and miniskirt, she instead wore a black leather jacket and form fitting pants, with soft leather boots on her feet. She was still a very curvaceous woman, but she now covered it. It was a little shocking, but then again from what he knew of his old world's Anko, she had only dressed like that to stand out. Made sense in a world of exhibitionists she would go the opposite route.

Removing their masks, Anko and Yugao, waved at Naruto before bowing to the Hokage. "Naruto here will be staying in the Namikaze compound, you will be staying with him for now. Until the day after tomorrow you are all three to not be seen entering the compound, so you'll be using the secret entrance they had at the back of the compound. Minato had blood seals all around the place, but Naruto should be able to get you in. I also want you to drill him on his backstory and bring him up to speed on Clan politics."

She handed two stacks of scrolls to the ANBU agents before continuing. "Naruto has already told us that he knows the secret of training with Shadow Clones, so tonight you can use that to get him up to speed. Meanwhile, if anyone asks where you are, tell them you are on prolonged guard duty for a visiting dignitary, but that you are unable to reveal the details of that guard duty. After we tell Mito the truth, then you can reveal what you are doing. This assignment is long term, probably six month minimum as that is the duration of a standard probation period. If Naruto is needed for missions, you will act as his teammates during said mission. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" both women said, bowing once again to Tsunade.

There was a bit more to talk about, mostly having to deal with the specifics of Naruto's testing the next day, but it wasn't that complicated. He would have to basically take a modified version of the Genin exam, then the Chunin exam, followed right after by the Jonin exam. The Genin exam would make sure he knew the basics and they would consider the Shadow Clone as an acceptable replacement for the standard Bunshin. Then the Chunin exam would be a combat situation against three current members of the shinobi ranks, with the final match being against a Jonin. That last match would actually be part of his Jonin exam as well, but afterwards he would have to demonstrate his mastery of several advanced techniques. Jiraiya thought it was all a wast of time since the kid already knew Sage Mode, Rasengan, and the Flying Thunder God technique, but Tsunade insisted they get a good view of Naruto's skills before just making him a Jonin.

"It's ok, Jiraiya, really it is," Naruto finally said, calming the old hermit down. "I never got a chance to do this in my old world, so I missed out on it. This way I get to do something I always wanted to do, prove that I deserve my rank."

"Pardon me," Yugao said, looking a bit nervous, "but if you know Sage Mode, aren't you already as powerful as Jiraiya-sama?"

Anko nodded, then added, "Yeah, so you would be like a new Sannin, wouldn't you?"

Naruto blushed, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "I was the new Toad Sage back home, after my mentor died, but I never got the rank officially. As for being a Sannin, well that's complicated. That was a title they got from Hanzo the Salamander, so I can't claim that one."

"He's right," agreed Tsunade. "That was just a title that Hanzo gave us for fighting him, a fight we actually lost by the way, so only Hanzo would have been able to grant him that title. We were actually all just Hokage level Jonin back then, nothing really all the special."

"The title Sannin is respected now, but when we got it we felt it was more of an insult," added Jiraiya with a scowl. "We got the title for losing, not winning. Hanzo had a twisted sense of the world, so for him it was a compliment. It was years before we realized he meant we were Hokages without villages, defenders of all the Elemental countries. Later, after Orochimaru turned traitor, then it lost some of it's shine again."

Naruto could understand that, it was similar to how he had felt about being a member of Team 7 back after Sasuke turned traitor. It was only after teaming up with his long lost friend that it had seemed like the title meant anything again, but after the final battle he had never gotten to speak with his friend again, so there was no way of knowing if Sasuke really changed, or if it was just an act. He hoped it had been real, but given his current situation, who knew. Whatever the case, he soon found himself dismissed and following his two guards out of the Hokage's office.

What wasn't a surprise was finding Mito and Hinata waiting for them outside the tower. Naruto was a little nervous about talking to either of them, for various reasons. Mito was obvious, being his counterpart in this world, but Hinata was complicated. He had really started to care for the shy Hyuga before the final battle, but never gotten a chance to really talk with her about it. Now, in a new world and with a much more confident looking Hinata, Naruto just wasn't sure how he felt about the girl. Add to that the determined and slightly hurt look on Mito's face, well it was going to be a long night.

"Guess you want answers," Naruto said before Mito could say anything, before turning to Yugoa and whispering. "Can you go ask the Hokage if we take them in the back way to where I'm staying. They shouldn't be able to tell much from that, should they?"

"No, probably not," agreed Yugao, vanishing from sight thanks to a Shunshin.

Turning back to the two girls, Naruto sighed, creating a clone and sending it for carry out from the ramen stand and Anko's favorite dango place, getting a raised eyebrow from the snake mistress. "I can't answer all your questions right now. After tomorrow I'll tell you everything if you still want to know it, but you'll have to accept that I am under orders not to reveal too much at the moment. Can you accept that?"

"I don't care about orders," growled Mito, hands on her hips and a look of righteous fury on her face. "I just want to know how you can be an Uzumaki and not have been around when I was a kid."

"Calm down, Mito-chan," soothed Hinata, rubbing the other girl's arm and causing her to relax. "I'm sure Uzumaki-san will tell you what he can. Like he said, he will tell you everything after tomorrow, you just have to be patient for now."

Her expression softening as she turned and looked at Hinata, Mito sighed before nodding. "Alright, but tomorrow I want to know everything."

"Deal," agreed Naruto, just as Yugao returned.

"Hokage-sama says it's ok, but they have to wear blindfolds when entering and leaving, at least until after tomorrow," she informed them, getting reluctant agreement from the two younger women.

Thirty minutes later they were all sitting outside a large Clan mansion while a horde of clones was in the process of cleaning almost two decades of dust from the place. Another group of clones was hidden in one of the larger rooms memorizing Naruto's fake background and Clan laws. He hated to study, but with fifty clones doing the work it would go fairly fast. Momo claimed she would help, making sure to memorize the details as well in case Naruto forgot anything. So, with that dealt with, Naruto and the ladies were enjoying a meal under the stars.

"So, you've been living in another village, Naruto-san?" asked Hinata as she finished up a cinnamon roll he had sent a clone out to get.

Naruto nodded, grateful that Momo had insisted he memorize those details first. "I have, though for the moment I request that you not ask too many details about that. I promise, I'll tell you all about it tomorrow after my tests."

"But you are an Uzumaki, right?" asked Mito, lounging on the ground in rather provocative pose.

Glad it was too dark to see what she wore under her 'skirt,' if it could really be called that, Naruto confirmed her question with a nod. "Yes, I really am an Uzumaki, Mito-chan."

Thanks to the darkness Naruto didn't see the girl's cheeks redden at the affectionate suffix he added to her name, though the other girls did, he continued. "I never knew my mother or father, they died during the Kyubi attack, but I was told about them when I got older."

"Just like you, Mito-chan," Hinata pointed out. "It sounds like you two have a lot in common."

"Yeah, maybe," grunted Mito, still not convinced. "You also say you are going to be tested tomorrow before joining the ranks of Konoha shinobi, but who trained you?"

That was a trickier question to answer, but Naruto decided a half-truth was better than a complete lie. "I had three main teachers. One was a Chunin that taught me the basics of being a shinobi. The second was a lazy bastard that taught me teamwork, not much else though. My real teacher was a good man, even after all his faults, who taught me the real meaning of being a shinobi. He died some time ago, but I still try to live up to his ideals."

Mito seemed to think of that for a few moments, yawning as she did. "Okay, I can sort of relate to that. Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei did the same for me, but thankfully the old pervert isn't dead. That had to be really hard on you. I can't imagine losing that old perv, no matter how twisted he might be."

"It was hard," agreed Naruto, remembering hearing the news that Jiraiya was dead. "I tried to keep it together, but eventually I broke down when I was alone. He was a good man, even if he was a leacher."

Hinata giggled, nudging Mito when she heard that. "Sounds like Jiraiya-sama, alright. Remember before the Chunin exams when he tried to convince you that training naked would improve your Taijutsu?"

"Thumped him good for that one," agreed Mito with a vicious smirk, reaching up to grab her chest and jiggle her breasts. "I may be proud of what I got, don't really care who sees it either, but no one gets a free show."

"Yeah, right," snorted Anko. "Do you even own panties, Mito?"

"Meh! I own a few pair for that time of the month, but that's about it," answered Mito, causing Naruto to blush and turn his face to the sky in an attempt not to look at the shadow created by the redhead's skirt. "Oh, is Naruto-kun embarrassed by that?"

"A little," he admitted, still not looking down. "My old village was a bit more conservative that this one. We didn't have the Steel Skin Seal there, so we had to wear more body armor and clothing to protect ourselves."

"That explains why you keep watching Yugao's ass," teased Anko. "Granted, she's got a great ass, but most people around here don't blush when they see it."

"Yeah, make fun of the guy that's trying not to be a pervert," groaned Naruto.

"You think I have a nice ass?" asked Yugao, trying to sound as innocent as possible, though the devilish glint in her eyes proved that to be a lie.

Naruto just groaned, flopping down on his back and covering his eyes with his arm. "Yes, you have a very nice ass, Yugao. Now, can we talk about something else?"

"Ok," all four girls said, their tone just a bit to playful, causing a shiver to run down Naruto's back.

"So, who has the nicest breasts here, Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata, and that was all it took to make Naruto faint.

When he next awoke Naruto was in a very comfortable bed, the early morning sunlight just having entered the room. He was confused for a moment, not sure where he was, till Momo reminded him that he was inside the Namikaze compound. In his old world he had never known there was a Clan compound for his father's family, but evidently here things had been a bit different. Whatever the reason, his father's family had been rich beyond belief and now he was the heir to all of it.

"Talk about a change of pace," muttered Naruto.

"Shut up, gaki, we're trying to sleep here," groaned someone from nearby, causing Naruto to sit up straight in bed.

What he saw was just a bit too much for his early morning sleep addled brain. On his left, barely covered by the thin sheet was a clearly sleeping Yugao, her bare back turned to him as she dozed. On his left, equally as bare, but turned towards him, was Anko. On either side of them, also asleep, were Hinata and Mito. Hinata looked rather cute, hugging her pillow like a stuffed animal under the sheet, which thankfully covered her from the shoulders down. Mito on the other hand was laying bare as the day she was born, face down and sprawled over the far side of the surprisingly large bed. The sight of all four of them in bed with him was enough to make him blush, pinching his nose and trying not to make a mess. It wasn't until he tried to get out of bed that he realized he was naked under the sheets.

"Ok, who undressed me and what are you all doing in bed with me?" he asked, pulling the sheet up a bit as it had fallen around his waist when he sat up.

"Your clones only found one set of sheets that wasn't ruined," Anko said, sitting up and scratching the underside of her left breast. "It was really late by the time they finished cleaning and we girls lost track of time, so Hinata and Mito crashed here. As for who undressed you, well that was Yugao and since your bed was so large, we all just shared it. Don't worry, your virginity is still intact, though only barely. Trust me kiddo, with what you got dangling between your legs and how sweet you are, you're going to be really popular once we get you some decent clothes."

"Oh, Kami, why have you forsaken me?" Naruto pleaded to the sky.

Four sets of giggles was his only response, proving the other girls were awake now. It was early, only just sunrise, so Yugao offered to make them all breakfast. Watching her walk naked from the room was one of the sexiest things Naruto had ever seen, though currently he was dealing with one perverted thought after another as the other girls got out of bed without covering up. Modesty was obviously not an issue for these girls, though Naruto still wrapped the sheet around his waist as he made his way to the bathroom to deal with certain issues.

"If you need a hand with that beast, Hinata says she'll help," Mito shouted once Naruto had closed the door to the bathroom behind himself.

"Hey! You're the one trying to look through the keyhole, not me!" Hinata was heard to say, causing Naruto to hang a towel over the knob to cover the keyhole.

"No fair!"

"Perverts," groaned Naruto as he turned on the shower, "I'm curse to be surrounded by perverts my whole life."

_Most likely._

_"And you didn't think to wake me when they started undressing me?"_

_Yugao was actually really respectful about it. She didn't slide your pants off till after you were under the sheets, though Anko snuck a peek once she got in bed._

_"Great, felt up by a woman for my first time and I wasn't even awake for it."_ groused Naruto as he climbed into the shower, enjoying the hot water immensely.

_Quit complaining. You know as well as I do that you've seen more naked women that you care to admit, especially when you were perfecting your little anti-pervert technique. How often did you peek on women in the public baths for that one?_

_"I was a little kid, I didn't have a clue about women back then, just that the perverts were weak against the really pretty one," _Naruto argued, blushing at the memory. _"I stopped peeking after I got the Sexy-jutsu down to an art."_

_True, but you aren't the prude you pretend to be, Naruto-kun. Admit it, you enjoy seeing them naked as well._

_"Ok, it's true, but it's still kind of strange seeing them like that," _he said with a sad smile. _"With the exception of Mito, I knew them all in my world. Anko disappeared towards the end of the war. Yugao was dating Hyate up until he was killed, after that I rarely if ever saw her again. Hinata was too shy to show off any skin, so meeting this new one really has me confused. Then we have Mito, this world's version of me, though I can't seem to wrap my mind around that bit at all. I would have figured a female version of me would have been blonde, but she's got hair like mom's."_

_It's strange, that I'll grant you, but remember these aren't the people you knew, even if they look like them. You'll have to get to know them all over again. As for Mito, she might be this world's version of you, but that doesn't mean a whole lot. You aren't brother and sister, so you aren't going to just hit it off right away, so put that out of your mind. You are both different people that may have led similar lives, but that's where it ends._

_"But we are brother and sister, aren't we?"_

_Not really. You have smimilar DNA, but having Kurama inside you would have tweaked your body enough to make it only a trace. Heck, I had to tweak your blood a bit when Tsunade took her samples, just to prove you were related to your father. If anything, you and Mito really are more like distant cousins than anything else._

_"Too strange,"_ grunted Naruto, turning off the water and heading for the door naked, forgetting he wasn't in his old apartment.

It's probably no wonder he almost fainted as he opened the door and found four young women staring at him as he stood naked in the doorway. Yugao, the only one that wasn't blushing deep red, just held a plate up for him and smiled.

"Breakfast is served," she informed him, then looked down at his waist. "It's just toast and fruit, but we may have some sausage later."


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Test this!

_Oh man up, pansy!_

_"But that was so embarrassing!" _whined Naruto in his mind.

_You've pulled worse pranks on strangers. They teased you a bit, but that was it. Grow up, Naruto-kun._

_"Says the one that was teasing right along with them,"_ grumbled Naruto as Anko and Yugao led him towards the Chunin stadium.

After the rather embarrassing start of his morning, Anko had guided Hinata and Mito out of the house wearing blindfolds. Once the girls were gone, Yugao quized him on his backstory, while they waited for Anko to return. The two women then donned their ANBU masks before the three of them headed for the stadium. It didn't take long to reach it, not at the speed they moved, but it was enough time for Naruto to put get a little nervous. Sure, he was an extremely powerful shinobi, but that didn't mean he couldn't worry about what was about to happen.

"We'e here," stated Anko, as the three of them leapt to the top of the stadium and then down to the center of field.

Looking around, Naruto had to laugh, if only a little bit. Standing around him was a gathering of old and new faces. Of course Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Mikoto was there, but so was Hiashi Hyuga. The stern looking Hyuga looked exactly the same as the last time Naruto saw the man in his world, the only difference being he looked slightly friendlier, though not much. Rather than the modified clothing he had seen everyone else wearing, Hiashi wore the traditional Hyuga clan robes, stiff and proper down to the last stitch.

In front of Tsunade and her advisors stood an assortment of shinobi that Naruto instantly recognized, except for one. From right to left they had Konohamaru Saratobi, then a pink haired boy he didn't recognize, and followed by Itachi Uchiha who waved at him. Next there was Gai Maito and Kakashi Hatake, Gai looked far to excited to be there while Kakashi had his nose buried in his infamous orange book. For the most part the entire group was dressed in light black linen uniforms, probably their official uniforms for out of village missions, except for Gai. Gai wore a modified version of his green spandex jumpsuit, this one missing the sleeves and having a zipper on the front that was open down to his collar bones. Other than that, he looked exactly the same.

"Naruto Uzumaki," called Tsunade, getting everyone's attention. "We are here today to test you for suitability to join this village. You will go through the standard testing for new shinobi and depending on whether or not you can complete each portion will determine your rank afterwards. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama," responded Naruto, though he had to force himself to be formal with her.

"Good, you will be starting off by demonstrating the three basic techniques required to graduate," she continued. "Afterwards you will demonstrate your weapons and Taijutsu skills through a series of increasingly difficult spars. No lethal attacks are allowed, so be mindful of your opponent at all times. When I say a spar is over, it's over. Got it?"

"Got it," he responded.

"Good, now, show us the Academy basics," ordered Tsunade with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

_"Does she want me to prank them?_

_Sure looks that way to me. _

Aiming a grin in Tsunade's direction, Naruto proceeded to do the Academies three basic techniques, but in reverse order of the normal testing routine. With barely a twitch of his hands Naruto created enough Shadow Clones to fill every seat in the stadium. This display of sheer power, because no one other than him could have come even close to doing it, left his examiners staring wide eyed at the stands around them. When he next transformed all of the clones and himself into copies of people from back in his original world, with himself transforming into a perfect replica of his father, the examiners were looking around as fast as they could to see the various versions of people they knew. The last technique, the substitution, was used to move all the examiners along with the Hokage and her advisors up to the Hokage's private box, leaving Naruto standing on the field with several clones of them.

"Smartass," grumbled Tsunade as she glared down at a waving Naruto. "Ok, you pass the Academy test, but can you pass the official test?"

"Bring it on!" shouted Naruto, dispelling the clones around him.

"He's not on a team, so he's going to run the gauntlet," stated Tsunade, more to herself than anyone else. "Konohamaru, you're up!"

"Yes, Hokage-sama!" agreed the young boy, fresh out of the Academy, before he made his way down to the stadium floor.

"So, Konohamaru Sarutobi," Naruto said as soon as the young boy landed in front of him.

"How do you know my last name?" asked the boy, looking rather puzzled as he dropped into a standard Academy taijutsu stance.

"That, Kono-san, is a secret that I may tell you about someday," replied Naruto with a smile.

"Whatever," Konohamaru said with a smirk. "You'll have to get by me first and that won't be easy. I've been taught all the short-cuts to become Hokage and I won't let you beat me."

Glaring up at the Hokage's box, Naruto couldn't help but notice several of the people there cringe. "Short-cuts? You let someone teach him 'short-cuts to becoming Hokage?' Were they trying to get the kid killed, or was his teacher just a fucking moron?"

Looking a bit ashamed, Tsunade was the one to answer. "I didn't know about it until recently. His grandfather contracted a supposedly 'elite' Jonin to train him, but the man was a little too awestruck by the privilege of teaching the Third Hokage's grandson. He's since been demoted to Chunin and Konohamaru and his friends were returned to the Academy to finish their training."

"Don't talk about Ebisu-sensei like that!" shouted Konohamaru, looking mutinous as he glared at Naruto. "He taught me lots of stuff to make becoming Hokage, like my grandpa, easy."

"No, he just taught you how to die fast," countered Naruto. "I'll prove it and when I do you will start training with me, daily, got it?"

"Yeah, like a loser like you can defeat me, the grandson of the Third Hokage!" roared Konohamaru.

What followed was not only embarrassing, but eye opening for the young boy. Naruto never once moved to attack him, instead he just dodged Konohamaru's ever attempt to hit him. This lasted for five minutes before the young boy managed to trip over the ridiculously long scarf he had around his neck. Naruto waited for the boy to get back to his feet, something a real enemy would have never done, then continued to doge the boy's attacks until the kid could barely stand due to exhaustion. Konohamaru finally stumbled, his body too tired to continue, before Naruto caught him by the font of his shirt and lifted him off the ground to hold the boy eye to eye with him.

"Your grandfather would be ashamed of you right now," Naruto whispered to the boy. "Hiruzen Sarutobi was a great man, but he never once boasted about his own greatness. You on the other hand came into this spar thinking your so-called training and your grandfather's reputation would win you this fight. Neither of those thing mean a damn in the real world. In the real world you either fight for everything you have, shedding sweat and blood as you work hard for your goals, or you die in a field. That's what your short-cuts got you, an over inflated ego that is going to cost you your life unless you get serious about your training."

Setting the boy down on unsteady legs, Naruto sighed and wiped a hand over his face. "You remind me of another kid I knew back home. He started off with an ego like yours, but he became a great shinobi once he started really working and forgot about short-cuts and crap like that. You want to be Hokage, you have to work for it. You want to be a leader, you have to bleed for it. There is no easy path to reach your goal!"

Konohamaru looked like someone had just slapped him once Naruto was done speaking, he wasn't the only one either. The pink haired Chunin that Naruto had noticed earlier was also looking a bit green, probably because they had believed much the same as the youngest Sarutobi. It didn't matter to Naruto, he had said what he needed to say, what people made of it was their own business. Still, he needed to drive the point home to the kid and there was only ever going to be one way to do that. So, gathering his chakra into his hand he created a perfect Rasengan before driving it into the ground between him and Konohamaru, knocking the boy off his feet.

"That is the result of hard work, blood, and sweat," he said as Konohamaru stared at him in awe. "There are no short-cuts to this and there are no short-cuts to being Hokage. Got me?"

"Gotcha!" shouted the boy, jumping back to his feet with a newfound determination. "I'll show you! I'll become the greatest shinobi in the village by working hard!"

"Yeah, you will, cause I'm going to be training you from now on," stated Naruto, glancing up at Tsunade and getting a nod from her. "You meet me at the Hokage Tower bright and early tomorrow and we'll get you started. Bring your friends, if you want."

"Will do, Boss!" shouted the boy, right before he passed out from exhaustion. Naruto created a clone to carry the boy up to the Hokage's box. "I want to talk to this Ebisu he mentioned. I think he needs a bit more than a demotion. Konohamaru's taijutsu is a mess, he never even once thought of using a Jutsu, and he has no stamina. The only short-cut he taught that kid was to kill him faster."

"I'll arrange for him to be there tomorrow morning when you pick the kid up," stated Tsunade, finding she wanted to see the former 'elite' Jonin taught a lesson. "Just don't kill him."

"I won't," agreed Naruto, "but there is a lot you can live through while wishing you were dead."

Tsunade nodded, then gestured for the pink haired Chunin to enter the ring. "Chunin Ichigo Haruno, you're up next."

_"No way! A male version of Sakura?"_

_Well, he does sort of look like her, so maybe a brother that didn't exist in our world?"_

"Watch me fight, Itachi-kun!" shouted the rather efeminate boy as he awkwardly leapt from the Hokages's box.

_"Are we sure that's male?"_

_It has an adam's apple and only males have that._

"I'm going to beat you up, you big meanie!" shouted the pink haired boy, causing Naruto to role his eyes. "Don't you underestimate me, I'm way stronger than that little boy was!"

Looking up at Tsunade, Naruto just asked, "Can I?"

"No, you can't," she replied, knowing instantly what Naruto meant.

"Please?" begged Itachi.

"No, he can't kill him," Tsunade stated firmly, or as firmly as you can while watching a pink haired boy blowing kisses to another boy.

"Damn!" shouted both boys together, getting a smug smile from Ichigo.

"The Hokage knows I'm too powerful for you to try that will, so she's protecting you from me," stated the boy before sticking his tongue out at Naruto.

"Oh that's it, start the match," groaned Naruto, ready to end this farce.

"Begin!" commanded Tsunade only to blink as a second later the pink haired boy was flying across the stadium. A moment later the boy hit the wall with enough force to crack the concrete, then falling to the ground unconscious. "Winner, Naruto!"

Those with the training for it saw Naruto take one step forward, striking Ichigo in the chest with enough force to send the boy flying. To anyone else it would have looked like he just shifted his feet, that's how fast the blow had been. Even Gai with his years of training had to admit Naruto was no one to mess around with. Kakashi on the other hand was looking rather ashamed, trying for all he was worth to hide behind Gai.

"Was that supposed to accomplish something?" asked Naruto, looking up at the Hokage's box with a puzzled expression.

Tsunade, who was busy glaring at Kakashi, shook her head saying, "Ichigo is Kakashi's student. He assured me that the boy was a highly trained shinobi, much improved over his previous test results during his first Chunin exam. Obviously, he was full of shit."

"Well, he has perfect chakra control and was the smartest student in his graduating class at the Academy," argued Kakashi still looking ashamed.

"Of course he's got perfect chakra control," yelled Naruto, glaring at the one eyed Jonin, "he's got smaller chakra reserves than Konohamaru had. Hell, I've got more chakra in my right nut than that kid does in his whole body!"

"Your testicles aside, I'll be personally reviewing Ichigo's current skill level and rank," Tsunade said, finally turning away from a nervous looking Kakashi. "I knew letting you field promote that boy was a mistake, Kakashi."

"Sorry, Hokage-sama," apologized the silver haired man.

"Anyway, your next challenger is at least a known fighter," said Tsunade, focusing back on why they were there. "Itachi Uchiha, you're up!"

Itachi, unlike the previous two combatants, used a Shunshin to appear in front of Naruto. "Let's have a good fight, huh?"

"Sounds good to me, Itachi-san!"

"Begin!" shouted the Hokage, and the boys were on the move.

To the untrained eye the two boys just seemed to vanish, but to the Hokage and her advisors along with the Jonin present, the boys were fighting a tremendous battle. Tsunade watched closely as the moved from taijutsu, to weapons, and finally a combination of both as they dashed around the stadium floor at top speed. Itachi favored a ninjato, while Naruto stuck with kunai, but they both showed great skill with their weapons of choice. The fight continued for several minutes, sparks and blurs of color being the only thing a civilian would see, before they jumped away from each other.

"You're very skilled, Naruto-san," Itachi said with a smile, not looking the least bit tired.

"Same to you, Itachi-san," complimented Naruto, also looking as if he had not just fought an intense high speed battle. "Shall we take it up a notch?"

"By all means, but I should warn you," Itachi said with a smile, "I'm the village's Genjutsu Master."

"Big surprise there," muttered Naruto.

_You do realize that you're immune to Genjutsu now, right?_

_"Since when?"_

_Since the moment you absorbed me, silly. My chakra, combined with your own, prevents foreign chakra from being able to influence you._

As Momo was telling him this, Itachi seemed to vanish. Well, he would have vanished if Naruto hadn't seen him leave behind a translucent version of himself and walk calmly towards him. Naruto assumed, and Momo confirmed, that Itachi had cast a Genjutsu to make it seem he was still standing in front of him. Unfortunately for Itachi, Naruto could only see the chakra anchoring the Genjutsu, while still seeing the Uchiha clearly. Not to say two couldn't play at that game. Letting Itachi approach him, Naruto pretended not to notice anything was wrong. In the Hokage's box he noticed Tsunade and her advisors frowning, thinking he had fallen for the trick. Only Jiraiya was smirking as Itachi drew out a kunai and sliced at Naruto's chest.

What happened next had everyone stunned. Instead of seeing blood as Itachi struck, the Naruto he had been fighting suddenly exploded in a cloud of smoke. Everyone looked around to see where the real Naruto might be, but it wasn't until they heard clapping that they looked up at the roof of the Hokage's box. Sitting there, calmly eating a cup of ramen, sat Naruto. Itachi looked confused for a moment, then as comprehension dawned on him he started to laugh.

"The clones from the start of the test," Itachi finally said with a smirk. "You let one of them fight Konohamaru and Ichigo, didn't you?"

"Yep," confirmed Naruto, finishing his ramen. "Didn't want to waste too much chakra on the preliminaries."

"Such fires of youth," gasped Gai. "To think we saw one of his clones putting on such a youthful performance with Itachi-kun! You're fires of youth burn brighter than I could have imagined, Naruto-san!"

"Something like that," agreed Naruto, having a flashback of Gai and Lee hugging.

"I think that proves he's got what it takes to be a chunin, Hokage-sama," Itachi said as he Shunshined back up to the Hokage's box. "He used good planning to put himself in position of strength, never revealed his secrets, and planned ahead for future battles."

"I have to agree with Itachi-san, Hokage-sama," agreed Hiashi. "The boy used planning, stealth, and advanced fighting skills. He has my vote for chunin."

Mikoto and Jiraiya also voiced their approval, the old hermit giving Naruto a thumbs up as the blond leapt back down to the stadium floor with Tsunade explaining the next part. "Ok, I've got to agree with you on that one. Gai, you're up next."

"No need, Hokage-sama," objected the spandex wearing man falling into what everyone called his nice guy pose, with sunlight glinting off his teeth. "I can already tell just from watching that Naruto-kun has exceeded the skill level of most Jonin. I've personally sparred with Itachi-kun and he is a most youthful opponent, nearly matching myself with his fires of youth, so for young Naruto-kun to match him in battle, even a friendly spar, shows Naruto-kun is worthy of being a Jonin!"

_One breath. What type of being is he that he can say all that in one breath?_

_"Also one sentence."_ added Naruto, looking up at the Hokage and her companions at they talked. _"Not as much yelling as the Gai I knew, but still a lot of youth and crap like that."_

"I agree with Gai," Kakashi stated, not even bothering to look up from his orange book. "The kid is already proved he's got the skills."

"Are you kidding me?" questioned Naruto, though he wasn't that surprised the Kakashi of this world would be as lazy as the one from his. "I had one decent fight and you think that proves I'm Jonin level? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd love it if it was that easy, but even I know you need more than a few flashy moves to qualify as a Jonin."

"I'll test him," offered Jiraiya with a cheesy grin. "If he's got half the moves I think he does, he's got this in the bag, but the kid is right. One decent fight does not a Jonin make."

Tsunade nodded, though she was glaring at Kakashi. "Alright, Jiraiya, make sure the kid is up to snuff."

Leaping out of the Hokage's box and landing as if he had jumped a foot down rather than twenty, Jiraiya walked over to Naruto with a grin on his face. "What are the rules, brat?"

Just like his Pervy-sage back home this Jiraiya knew that if they went all out in such a small area there would be tremendous damage. That was why Naruto and his mentor had always setup rules for their spars, unless they were someplace where they could completely cut loose. Thinking about it, Naruto figured they should avoid anything past Jonin level, though a bit of flash wouldn't be out of place. With that in mind he smirked at the old man.

"No Sage-mode, nothing over Jonin, and no lethal attacks," he stated firmly, though he was still smiling.

"There's a lot of leeway there, kiddo," countered Jiraiya. "Like you said, there's a lot you can do to someone and not kill them. So, no crippling moves either."

"Deal," agreed Naruto as both men looked up at Tsunade to start the fight.

Raising her hand, still glaring at Kakashi, both men prepared. When she dropped her hand a moment later they vanished in a cloud of dust. This was not just a Taijutsu battle however, so speed was only needed to provide room between them to prepare. For Naruto this meant creating a horde of Shadow Clones to use as a distraction. On the other hand Jiraiya used the distance to summon several mid-sized toads to attack the clones. Both men were standing at far sides of the stadium floor, looking more like they were playing a game of shogi rather than fighting a battle.

"The toads cancel out the distraction of the clones," admired Mikoto, her Sharingan active as she observed the fight.

"Not really," argued Itachi. "Naruto is replacing the clones as fast as the toads are destroying them. In a battle like this is would come down to who has the most chakra, which we already know from his earlier display Naruto has plenty of."

As they had agreed on no lethal of crippling moves, Naruto picked up a pebble off the floor and threw it into the air in Jiraiya's direction. Making several hand signs he used a clone technique normally for increasing the number of kunai you threw at someone. In this case it turned one pebble into several thousand pebbles, each of them raining down on Jiraiya's location. The older shinobi saw this and substituted himself with one of Naruto's clone, letting it take the hit while he destroyed several more clones with several quick punches and kicks. Naruto tried several times to get his clones in to a position where they could attack the more experienced man, but not wanting to hurt the toads he was rather limited in options.

The crowd above was watching closely, surprised at how equally matched the two shinobi below them were. Obviously Jiraiya was limiting himself, they had all heard the rules the boy had set for the match, but even then it was fairly even. Most of them realized fairly quickly that Naruto was limiting himself as well, but the question was really how much was he limiting himself by. Tsunade, being the most familiar with Jiraiya's abilities, knew he was holding back a great deal. Mikoto and Hiashi were also aware of this, but still rather surprised that a young unknown shinobi could keep up at this level given his young age.

"Take it up a notch?" yelled Jiraiya.

"You got it, old man!" replied Naruto with a grin.

Suddenly the clones all started creating Rasengans, driving them into the ground to create a massive cloud of dust that obscured the stadium floor. For his part, Jiraiya suddenly faded from sight, leaving everyone wondering what the two of them were up to. A moment later the dust was blown away by a massive clash between the two figures going toe to toe in a Taijutsu match. Blows were struck back and forth, each looking for an opening as the other expertly blocked or countered. Jiraiya may have had the advantage of a longer reach due to his height, but Naruto made up for it with his speed. The two of them clashed for several minutes, only finally breaking apart when Jiraiya managed to land the first true hit on Naruto since the started.

It wasn't a powerful kick, but Jiraiya had managed to sweep Naruto's legs out from him, dropping the boy to the ground where a follow up leg drop hit the boy's chest. Leaping away as Naruto recovered and rolled away from him, Jiraiya's hands flew through a series of hand signs before he slammed the ground with one hand. Instantly four rock walls sprang up around Naruto to trap him. At least it would have trapped him if Naruto hadn't responded with a Rasengan to the wall between them, followed by wave of wind that knocked Jiraiya from his feet. Jiraiya recovered quickly, using another earth based technique to block a second wind blade thrown at him by the blond.

Thinking he had a second to recover, Jiraiya was caught unaware when a clone of Naruto suddenly burst out of the ground at his feet and delivered a massive haymaker to his chin. Sent flying into the air by the force of it, Jiraiya was surprised to see another Naruto falling towards him. He only had a second to concentrate, replacing himself with a rubble from his previous attempt to trap Naruto. He reappeared behind Naruto, ready to go back on the attack, but was once again surprised when Naruto unleashed another wind blade at him. The blade would have seriously hurt him if not for Jiraiya dropping to the ground under it and rolling away before Naruto could follow up his attack.

Preparing to use a fire technique, Jiraiya was just about to launch a fireball at the blond boy when he suddenly felt another set of arms around his waist. Feeling himself being lifted up into the air, Jiraiya tried to break loose from Naruto's hold on him, but it was too late. A second later his head made contact with the stone floor of the stadium and his vision was filled with stars. It wasn't enough to knock him out, but the impact left him dazed long enough for Naruto to dash forward and slap a chakra suppressing seal on his forehead. The moment he felt his chakra fade he knew he was beaten, even if he had been holding back.

"Winner, Naruto Uzumai!" bellowed the Hokage as she leapt down to the stadium floor to check on her husband and Naruto.

"Damn, brat, that hurt," groaned Jiraiya as Tsunade started examining him.

Naruto snorted, rubbing his tender ribs. "And that leg drop didn't? Think you cracked one or two of my ribs."

"That's what you two consider non-lethal?" barked Tsunade as she started to used healing chakra on Jiraiya's head.

"Yes!" both men replied with a smirk.

"I started him off at low Jonin and worked my way up to elite," explained Jiraiya as Tsunade worked. "He didn't hesitate and adapted well to the situation. Even when surprised he had a plan to escape along with a follow up attack. He also has a good mastery over his wind element, which he proved with those wind blades. Yes, they were powerful, but he blunted the leading edge to prevent serious injury. By the way, where did you learn that one, kid."

Tsunade had now finished healing Jiraiya and was moving over to work on Naruto as he explained. "I figured out how to do that when I was working on my advanced wind element training. I was trying to find the secret of how to cut a waterfall and stumbled across it. It's more of a stretched out wind bullet than a wind blade. Downside, it moves much slower than the blade, but can take out a large group standing together. I've used it to clear a path in enemy lines before, letting my clones deal with the people on the ground as I move forward."

"Good strategic thinking," voiced Hiashi as he joined them. "If you don't claim that as a Clan technique, it would be a fine addition to the village's repertoire."

"Nah, village can have it," Naruto stated as Tsunade finished healing his ribs. "I've got tons of techniques I've stumbled on over time, but most of them are ones I learned fighting other people. Those I'll hand over. I've only got a handful I'll keep to myself."

"That's fine, Naruto-san," with a smile, before he turned serious. "I am however curious as to how you learned the Rasengan. To my knowledge, that technique was only known to the Fourth and Master Jiraiya."

"We'll explain that one later, Hiashi," stated Tsunade, glancing around at the group now standing around them. "The answer is a village secret."

"Let him come, Tsunade-sama," Naruto said, nearly chocking on the honorific. "He's one of your advisors, so he should know as well."

Tsunade seemed to think about that for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "I think we'll add one more person, as they have a tie to this as well. Meanwhile, I am happy to announce that based on what I've just seen, you are now promoted to Jonin of Konoha, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Thanks!" shouted Naruto, bouncing around like a little kid at the news.

A short time later found Naruto sitting in the Hokage's office with several people. Obviously Tsunade was there, as was Jiraiya, Mikoto, and Hiashi. Mito was also there with, surprisingly, Hinata sitting at her side. Anko and Yugao were there, wearing their masks as they were technically on duty, but the other ANBU guards were absent. Naruto sat across from Mito, looking at her a little nervously, which in turn was making her nervous.

"Mito," Tsunade said with a warm smile, though it held a tinge of sadness. "What I am about to tell you is the complete truth. Some of it will come as a shock, while some of it will seem like a complete fantasy, but it will all be true. I want you to stay calm, hear me out, then we will discuss any questions you have. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, granny, I gotcha," replied the girl, causing Tsunade's eyebrow to twitch.

"I will start of then by telling you one of the most highly guarded secrets in the village," began Tsunade. "Seventeen years ago the village was attacked by the Kyubi, or at least that is the public side of the story."


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Revealing Truths...

"I will start of then by telling you one of the most highly guarded secrets in the village," began Tsunade. "Seventeen years ago the village was attacked by the Kyubi, or at least that is the public side of the story."

That had been the start of a really difficult conversation for Mito to hear. Several times she had broken down and cried, burying her face in Hinata's shoulder when she did. Learning her father was the Fourth Hokage was one thing, but learning her hero Kushina Uzumaki was her mother, well that was a bit more than she could take. Naruto thought it ironic that in his world he had never heard the name of either of his parents until he was fighting Nagato to save his village, but Mito had learned all about Kushina in school. She was justifiably upset to learn the Third Hokage had lied to her every time she asked if he knew who her parents were. Each time he had told her she was named after Kushina to honor the last Uzumaki's sacrifice, never revealing Mito was actually related to the woman. It was only when Tsunade explained the need to keep her existence secret from her parent's enemies that Mito seemed to calm down a bit, though not much.

Next came the hard part, explaining Naruto's presence. Naruto took the story over at that point, answering numerous questions from Mito, Hinata, and Hiashi as the other's already knew his background. At first they all seemed a bit skeptical, at least until Tsunade and Jiraiya confirmed it based on blood tests and certain other factors. Naruto didn't mention Momo to anyone, that could wait until he knew them all a bit better, but he told her everything else. Surprisingly, Mito took the news fairly well, even accepting Naruto's cover story after it was explained to her why he would be Clan Head to protect her from being forcibly made a part of the CRA."

"As long as there are two of us alive, no one can force us into the CRA," explained Naruto.

"I always wanted family," a teary eyed Mito cried as she flung herself at him, wrapping him in a bone crushing hug. "Now I've got one!"

"Something like that," muttered Tsunade, looking between the new found family and Hinata.

For her part, Hinata had remained silent throughout Naruto's story. She had only asked two questions, both of which had to deal with his interactions with his world's version of her. It struck Naruto as a bit odd when she asked how well he knew his Hinata and whether the other her had known his true heritage. When he answered, blushing as he did it, that they had never dated but he had wanted to after the war, she smiled sadly. It was when he told her that the other girl never knew his true parentage that she nodded and the sadness seemed to leave her eyes. That did not mean she was the only one to pay attention to Naruto's answers to those questions.

Hiashi was paying very close attention as Naruto told his story, including a very watered down version of the blond's treatment prior to becoming a shinobi. He only asked one question, after Naruto had finished his story and Mito had virtually tried to attach herself to the young shinobi. Looking incredibly serious, he was almost glaring at the blond as he spoke, he asked if Naruto knew anything about his responsibilities as a Namikaze.

"I'm not sure what you mean, Hiashi-san," answered a confused looking Naruto, with a still crying Mito cuddled up in his arms. "The old man, like your's did with Mito, never told me a thing about my dad's family. The Pervy-sage died before he could tell me anything and what with the war we were fighting and all, well, I never realy had time to worry about it. I only met my dad once, same for my mom, and our time was pretty limited, so questions about family stuff was pretty much a bust."

"So, you know nothing of any standing agreements there might be between your clan and any others?" asked Hiashi, now having everyone's eyes on him.

Mikoto cleared her throat, getting everyone's attention. "Is this the right time to bring that up, Hiashi?"

"No, I want to know what he's talking about," countered Naruto, noticing that Tsunade and Jiraiya were looking a bit nervous now. "Somethings up, I can tell. What's up?"

Looking at Tsunade, almost as if asking for permission, Hiashi sighed when the blonde Hokage nodded at him. "The Namikaze and Hyuga family had formed an alliance before my brother and I were born."

"Good for them," said Naruto, waiting for the other shoe to fall, because his life was never that easy. "What's that got to do with me?"

"The alliance was to be sealed with a political marriage," explained Hiashi, looking suitably nervous as he spoke. "A main family member of the Hyuga would marry the Clan heir of the Namikaze family. It was not possible in my generation because there were only males born at the time and it was deemed too important an alliance to marry off a child to an adult, even for political reasons. So, with that in mind, the marriage was pushed back to the next generation. When the Namikaze were wiped out save for Minato, the alliance was still in effect, but would have to wait until he had a child. Minato eventually married Kushina and they announced they were expecting a child. It was glad tidings because I had just recently found out that my wife was also expecting, meaning we had another chance to seal the alliance. Yes, the Namikaze Clan was reduced to one survivor, but they still controlled a vast amount of money and businesses, most of which Minato asked me to monitor for him."

"But he had a daughter," Mito said, her head resting on Naruto's chest as she glared at Hiashi. "Can't seal the alliance if both clans just have daughters, isn't that right, Hiashi."

Naruto was a bit confused by the vehemence in Mito's tone, but then he was confused by this whole thing. "So, it get's pushed back again to when Mito and Hinata have kids, right?"

"Not exactly, Naruto," Tsunade answered. "I forgot all about that old alliance when we created your backstory, a story we've already set in motion. You are now the Namikaze heir, the first male in a generation with a marriage age Hyuga female since the alliance was first agreed upon."

_Oh, shit! Naruto-kun, this could be really bad._

_"No shit!"_

"So, let me see if I understand what you are saying," growled Naruto, not happy how the conversation was going. "You're basically telling me that I am now going to be forced to marry someone to keep an old alliance in place? Who might this Hyuga girl be?"

"Me," answered Hinata, her eyes looking anything but happy about the fact. "My sister is already betrothed to Konohamaru Sarutobi, so that just leaves me to fulfill the alliance as there are no other main branch females our age at the moment."

Naruto was in shock, but from the way Mito tensed up in his arms, so was she. "You don't look that happy about this, Hinata-chan, why is that?"

"I'm already in a relationship, though it is not a commonly accepted one," explained Hinata, glancing at her father with less than friendly intentions. "I was made aware of the alliance between our two clans, but ignored it because I was under the impression the Namikaze Clan no longer existed. So, I sought my own love match and found it. Unfortunately I was informed several years ago, by Hiashi-san, that while I might 'dally' with my love, I would eventually need to submit to a marriage arranged for me by the Clan. The purpose of that marriage would be with the sole intent of carrying on my bloodline, the most commonly forwarded name was that of my cousin, Neji."

"Why can't you just marry your boyfriend and have kids with him?" asked Naruto, more than a little confused when Hinata blushed.

"W-well that is not possible, Naruto-san," she finally explained, every eye on the room focused on her. "You see, I don't have a boyfriend. I have a girlfriend."

"Oh, well that would explain it," conceded Naruto with a slight blush at the images that suddenly popped into his head. "Well, if you are anything like my Hinata-chan, your girlfriend is very lucky to have you in her life. If you don't mind me asking, who is it?"

Much to his surprise, Mito suddenly raised her hand. "It's me, Naruto-kun. We've been dating since we graduated from the Academy."

"Good for you, kid," voiced Anko, giving the two girls a thumbs up.

Hiashi hanging his head in shame, whispered, "I never begrudged you finding love, daughter. I just wanted you to be aware the responsibilities you still had to fulfill as my heir."

Turning back to glare at Hiashi, Mito yelled, "Oh, she knew how you felt! I remember the night she told you we were dating. Don't forget, I was there! You told looked like you were going to throw up, then you told her to forget her 'confused feelings and focus on reality.' Wasn't that the last time she ever called you 'father,' Hiashi?"

"Yes, it was," admitted Hiashi, once again hanging his head in shame.

"So, you don't want this marriage anymore than I do, right?" asked Naruto, forgetting anyone else was in the room to focus solely on Hinata. "What would be the repercussions if we didn't get married?"

"No, I can't say I'm thrilled about this marriage," admitted Hinata with a sad smile. "However, my hands are tied. If we don't marry, the Hyuga Clan will be required to immediately pay back all the money they borrowed from the Namikaze. Hiashi-san would be required to turn over control to you of all the companies he has been running for the Namikaze Clan, which would would be difficult for you to deal with so suddenly. Most importantly, the Hyuga would be forced to near bankruptcy with the loss of the money your family loaned us."

"I don't care about money or businesses, Hinata-chan," argued Naruto. "I'd wipe out the debt in a heartbeat and I couldn't care less about the businesses."

"You can't do that, Naruto-san," Mikoto quietly said. "Only the original signers of the alliance contract could wipe out the debt. All the old contracts like that are setup that way to prevent either clan from welching out on their part of the bargain."

"Fine, we work out a payment plan," countered Naruto.

Tsunade shook her head, saying, "No, I've seen the contract. The money has to be returned within one week, nowhere near enough time for the Hyuga to come up with the money."

"Hold on, if I'm backing out of the contract, shouldn't I be the one paying the penalty?" asked Naruto, looking intently between the three Clan heads present.

"The Hyuga were not as prosperous back when the contract was originally written," explained Hiashi. "The only thing we had to offer in return for the alliance was a ceremonial dagger and of course the person that would marry into your clan. It was only after we received the money from your clan that we were able to become so financially stable. Considering most of our wealth and power is built upon the money your clan gave us, to lose that money would reduce us to little more than well dressed beggars in the street."

"Oh this sucks!" growled Naruto, lifting Mito off his lap so he could stand and start to pace. "What if we do marry, but I just step aside and let Hinata-chan and Mito-chan lead their own lives?"

"I am required to have a child with my husband, as dictated by the contract, Naruto-kun," Hinata informed him. "We have one year from the wedding before I have to be pregnant, to prove that we have consummated our marriage."

Groaning, Naruto started pacing faster. "This is so fucked up, you know that right? Mito-chan, what do you think of this?"

"I agree with you, this is fucked up," the redhead agreed, glaring at Hiashi again. "Personally, I want to see this contract to make sure it's not some bullshit tactic of Hiashi-teme's to keep me and Hinata-chan apart."

"It's not, kiddo," Jiraiya said, walking over and sitting next to the young woman, pulling her into his arms and hugging her. "I've seen the contract, didn't like it much either when I learned about it. Your dad hated it too, but kind of forgot about it after he got married. I hate to admit it, but so did I until Hiashi brought it up."

"This is such crap," growled Naruto as he continued to pace. "You won't let two people that love each other get married, but you'll force someone to get married to live up to some contract they didn't even sign? How messed up is that? There has got to be another option!"

Mikoto coughed, drawing everyone's attention to her as she pulled a scroll down off a shelf behind Tsunade's desk. Naruto recognized the scroll, it was the one that contained the village laws. He had seen his Jiji studying it repeatedly when he was a little boy. Jiji always acted like it was the most important thing in the room when he opened it, but Naruto rarely ever paid attention to it. Now, watching Mikoto open the scroll and unroll it to a certain portion, he kind of hoped the answer to his problems was contained inside it.

"There is a second option, Naruto-san," she explained, though she looked a bit worried. "The solution is a bit extreme, but might work for you in this case. It might allow you all to be happy, but it would require a sacrifice on your part, Naruto-san."

"What sort of sacrifice?" Naruto asked, stopping his pacing and focusing a grim expression at Mikoto.

Looking rather worried the Uchiha matriarch answered him. "What I propose is that you willing enact the Clan Restoration Act, taking multiple wives to rebuild not just your clan, but also the Uzumaki Clan."

"What!" bellowed Naruto, now looking furiously at Mikoto. "How does that solve the problem? Now you're talking about dragging even more people into this mess! That would just rob even more people of a chance to find real love!"

"I never said that, Naruto-san," Mikoto objected, not looking all that worried as the furious blond glared at her. "Yes, Hinata-san might be required to marry you to satisfy the alliance contract, but the five other girls wouldn't be."

"Five other girls?" asked Mito, intently listening to everything Mikoto was saying. "Why only five other girls?"

"Contrary to popular belief and urban legend, the CRA only allows for three wives per clan," explained Tsunade, her eyes now looking a little brighter. "In Naruto's case as he has two clans to restore, so he would need three for each clan. Hinata would marry him under the Namikaze name to satisfy the Hyuga requirement, but Naruto would be free to meet and fall in love with the five other girls. No one would force them to marry him and if he never found any other girls, there is no requirement for him to marry anyone else."

"But how does it help Mito and Hinata?" asked Naruto, looking as if he was already dreading the answer.

Jiraiya was the one to answer, snickering as he did. "Cause if you marry Mito as well, she and Hinata could be together legally without anyone looking down on their relationship."

"What the..." began Naruto, but he was cut off.

"I'LL DO IT!" shouted Mito, leaping into the arms of her lover. "Anything to be with Hinata!"

"But you're my cousin, hell, you could be considered my sister!" Naruto screamed, blushing furiously.

"Actually, cousin is closer to the mark, given the results of the blood tests I did yesterday," countered Tsunade. "Legally, in Clan matters, it wouldn't make a difference if you were brother and sister, you could still marry."

"I married my brother," added Mikoto, looking completely unconcerned by that fact. "He was my best friend all my life, so it wasn't that hard an adjustment to make to being his wife."

"But, I barely know Mito or Hinata," stammered Naruto, all the while listening to Momo giggling inside his head.

"I don't care, Naruto-kun," Mito stated, standing up and walking towards a very confused Naruto. "Honestly, I just met you, so I don't think of you like that, but if it means I can be with Hinata-chan, I'll marry you right now!"

She was just about to reach out and touch him, but Naruto pulled away. "I need time to think."

Vanishing from the room, leaving a very worried group of people behind him, Naruto was gone in a flash of yellow light. Tsunade immediately ordered Neko and Hebi to find him, with the two women instantly taking off. Jiraiya could already tell Naruto was on top of the Hokage monument, but didn't say anything as he walked over to comfort his shocked looking goddaughter. Hinata was also looking distraught, but when Hiashi walked towards her, she just glared at him, causing him to stop short. Tsunade and Mikoto just stared at the scroll in front of them like it was a venomous snake.

It took Anko and Yugao an hour to find Naruto, who was currently sitting on his father's head at the Hokage Monument. They approached him quietly, worried that he might be thinking of doing something stupid. They needn't have worried, but as they watched the sun setting in the distance they could see tears rolling down the young man's face. It was a heartbreaking sight.

"You can join me if you want," Naruto said, never once turning to look at them.

"Are you alright, Naruto-san?" asked Yugao as she and Anko took seats on either side of him.

"Not really," he admitted with a wry chuckle. "I should have known the moment Mikoto-san said the word 'sacrifice' I was going to get shafted. It's kind of the theme of my life. All my life people have been doing things that mean I will be forced to sacrifice something, whether I know it or not. My father did it. The Third did it repeatedly. My teammates did it. Hell, I even did it several times because there were no other options. I know I've only been here two days, but I hoped this place would be different. I really did hope that for once I would get to live life the way I wanted, not having to give up my own happiness so someone else could find there's."

Watching as the sun vanished below the horizon, Naruto sighed before continuing. "I won't lie, I think I could have fallen in love with my Hinata-hime back home. For a moment, before I looked in her eyes, I was really happy when I found out I had a second chance here in this world. Then I saw the sadness in her eyes and knew it wasn't going to happen. Then I find out even if she did marry me, she was only doing it because she was being forced to. Oh, don't forget if she doesn't she bankrupts her family. The topping on the ramen being she's already in love with someone and I would be robbing her of that as well."

"Oh, but don't worry, we've got a solution to solve the problem, Naruto," he said in a mocking high pitched voice. "All you have to do is marry multiple girls, who may or may not love you for you and not your wealth."

The two women next to him remained silent as Naruto continued to rant. "You know what the CRA really is? It's the absolute epitome of marriage for political and financial gain. Forget that crap about rebuilding your clan, it's really about money and political power. You just have to forget about love, but don't forget all the gold in your bank account, 'cause the girls that would be interested in a marriage like that sure won't forget. Sure, Hinata and Mito get to be happy together, but what about me? Once again I get to sacrifice my happiness for someone else. I'm fucking tired of it."

"You're a good guy, Naruto," Anko finally said, laying a hand on his arm. "It might look bad now, but you'll figure something out."

"Oh, I thought of lots of ways out of this while I was sitting here," grunted Naruto. "For example, I could cancel the alliance and demand Hinata in payment, then marry her to Mito as a clan issue. Downside, I leave the entire Hyuga clan homeless."

Anko and Yugao stared slack jawed at how ruthless the plan was, but Naruto was still talking. "I could also commit suicide, leaving Mito as my heir after marrying Hinata. Downside, I still leave them in a position where they have to marry again to have kids. That and I don't like the idea of dying quite yet."

"None of my options are good," Naruto, said after a long pause. "If I had known about this even a few hours earlier, before I took my test, I could have just left the village and never come back. Now that people know the truth about my heritage, even if it's a limited number of people, that's not really an option anymore. Hell, Jiraiya would track me down if Tsunade asked him to. Even if he didn't find me, Mito would become my heir by default and the burden would still fall on her and Hinata to have kids with someone they didn't love, with their kids having to put up with this bullshit situation."

"Or, you could marry them and do your best to be happy, kid," cut in Anko. "I mean, every guy dreams of having multiple hot women all to themselves."

"Fuck you, Anko!" roared Naruto, causing the dark haired ANBU to jump back from him in surprise. "Would you be happy if you were told you effectively had to rape an unwilling woman and force her to have you child. Oh, let's not forget, you are being forced to do it because her entire family is being held hostage until you do? Screw you, bitch! I'm not like that!"

"She didn't mean it like that, Naruto-san," Yugao said, trying to calm the blond down as chakra started to leak out of his skin, scaring the crap out of Anko. "She was just making a poorly timed joke."

"It's not a joke!" yelled Naruto, now turning and glaring at Yugao. "I know people seem to find my pain funny, but I'm sick of it! Just once I want someone to put what I want first! I'm sick and tired of being the brunt of Kami's sense of humor and giving everyone else around me a fucking chuckle! This shit isn't funny, not at all! I just had to give up everything and everyone I love to come here! Isn't that a large enough sacrifice to ask of me?"

_I'm so sorry, Naruto-kun. I there was any other way I would have taken it, but there wasn't._

Naruto could hear that Momo was sobbing as she spoke, but at the moment he just couldn't control his rage. Standing, he strode over to a large rock formation, easily the size of a two story house. Gathering all his rage and chakra into his hand, Naruto slammed his fist into the solid rock. The resulting explosion reduced the solid rock to fine dust in a cataclysmic display of power. The two ANBU were literally shaking in fear at the sight, knowing not even Tsunade could do something like that with one hit. A moment later when a full platoon of ANBU arrived to investigate, along with Tsunade and Jiraiya, Naruto ignored them.

One foolish ANBU tried to stop Naruto when the blond started walking towards another large rock formation. Jiraiya tried to stop the fool, but he wasn't fast enough. As the ANBU codenamed Pig drew his ninjato to attack, Naruto was suddenly in front of him. Faster than anyone could follow, not even Jiraiya, Naruto broke the masked man's arm before he could draw his weapon. A second later the man was flying over the edge of the monument when Naruto kicked him in the chest. It was only thanks to Jiraiya's fast work that the man was saved from falling to his death. However no one else noticed that as the ANBU guards attacked Naruto all at once. They never stood a chance.

Seconds later Naruto was standing amidst a ring of injured and moaning ANBU, still looking furious as he spoke. "This is the power that I was forced to wield, a product of every sacrifice that was forced upon me. Once I wanted nothing more than to use this power to protect my precious people, but now I would trade it all for one person to really care about me. I was always told, to the point I couldn't help but believe it, that all those sacrifices would be worth it someday in the future. Funny thing is, I'm still being asked to make sacrifices, but I've yet to see the worth of any of them."

"Naruto," called Jiraiya, trying to calm the young man down. "I know what you mean, but this isn't as bad as you think it is. I mean, look at the upside of this. You're going to end up with several women..."

Anko and Yugao both tried to warn him not to finish his sentence, but it was too late. Naruto was moving before anyone could respond, grabbing Jiraiya by the throat and lifting the struggling man off his feet. Tsunade tried to stop him, but Naruto had begun unconsciously channeling Nature chakra, so that when the Hokage tried to knock him away from her husband she just managed to hurt her hand when she it him. Naruto barely turned his head to glare at her before he turned back to this worlds version of his mentor.

"Because in whatever world you exist I know you're a pervert at heart and don't mean anything by your comment, I won't snap your neck," growled Naruto, dropping the now blue faced Sannin on the ground. "Next time someone thinks to make a joke about my current situation, I'll be far less merciful."

Suddenly Naruto vanished in a show of pure speed, Jiraiya was winded but could detect the boy's location in the Namikaze compound. "What the fuck was that?"

Anko sighed, watching as Yugao tended to their injured comrades who Naruto had only knocked the wind out of rather than anything more serious. "Naruto-san is not happy about the current situation. He feels that he is being forced into a loveless marriage because the Hyuga family is being held hostage by the contract between his family and theirs. He also feels that he is being asked to sacrifice his happiness to promote someone else's."

"From what he was saying, this type of thing has happened several times in his past," added Yugao, helping a young ANBU agent to their feet. "In fact, from the sound of it, this has been happening repeatedly all his life."

"Yeah, evidently he was in love with someone back home and had hopes that he might rekindle that relationship here," continued Anko, not going into too many so not to give away any secrets she shouldn't. "For a moment he thought that might be possible here, but when he learned the truth of the situation he was convinced this was just another situation where he would have to make a sacrifice to aid someone else."

"The topic of the CRA also seems to be a sore subject with him," Yugao pointed out as she finished looking over her fellow ANBU. "He feels that being a part of it will rob him of the chance to meet and fall in love with anyone due to them knowing he is the last of a clan, so they will only want him for his money and power."

"That doesn't excuse him from attacking my ANBU, or nearly killing one of them," Tsunade shouted, looking at her obviously overmatched ANBU.

"The idiot was never in danger of dying," countered Jiraiya, holding up a spool of fine wire. "Kid tied this around the idiot's belt, making sure he might get the shit scared out of him, but he wouldn't die. Not bad considering this little moron was going to attack the boy for no reason."

"He was trying to leave!" barked Tsunade, but Jiraiya would have none of it.

"And what right did you have to stop him from doing so?" asked her husband, his face now as serious as she had ever seen it. "Yes, the boy destroyed a rock. Big deal. He didn't attack anyone and he was just venting his frustrations. I seem to recall that you've done similar for less reason, so you're going to tell me it's ok for you to do it but not for him? That's a bit too much hypocrisy for me to stomach,_ Hokage-sama_."

Everyone cringed, including Tsunade, because everyone knew Jiraiya only ever called her by her title when he was pissed. Really, really pissed. As it was, the Toad Sage wasn't done with his lecture. Looking every bit the Sannin he was, Jiraiya glared at his wife and then everyone else in the area. A snap of his fingers as he looked at the ANBU guards had them vacating the area as fast as they could, afraid of what he might do to them if they didn't.

"You forget, Tsunade, just two days ago Naruto was fighting for his life in a war comparable to all three of the shinobi wars we've fought here, combined," continued Jiraiya, turning back to his wife. "Two days ago he won that war, by himself, but the price was he was forced to leave his own world and come to this one. That's a hell of a thank you for winning a war, might as well of been a kick in the nuts. Hiashi should have kept his fucking mouth shut after hearing what Naruto told him, give he kid time to settle in and come to terms with his loos, but he just had to drop another bomb on the kid. Then Mikoto adds her two Ryo, presenting it as a means to make the girls happy. Sure, she pointed out he could meet other girls, but the kid has the right idea about the CRA and you know it."

"But, it would solve both problems," argued Tsunade, though she didn't look fully convinced of her own words. "They could be together and he could find someone to love."

"The chances of that in a CRA marriage are slim to none, and you know it, Tsunade," replied Jiraiya coldly.

"Not to mention he feels he is being forced to rape, his words not mine, Hinata to satisfy the wording of the contract," added Yugao. "I sort of see his point, Hokage-sama."

"The kid just wants someone to love him, to care more about him than what he can do for them," Anko continued, hanging her head and sounding depressed as she spoke. "You heard what he said, he would give up everything to feel like someone cared about him and wasn't asking him to sacrifice something more for them. Honestly, I agree, from the sound of it he really has sacrificed too much as it is."

Finally realizing that what she was hearing was the truth, Tsunade bowed her head. "There has to be a solution."


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: What now...

It had been a month since Naruto's arrival in his new world and with the exception of the first two days he had not stepped foot out of the Namikaze estate. Sure, his clones were seen all over town doing D-rank missions as part of his probation, but the real Naruto had yet to leave his new home. In fact, with the exception of Jiraiya, no one had seen the real Naruto since that night at the Hokage Monument. Anko and Yugao still stayed at the estate, but they had found the main house sealed with blood seals keyed specifically to Naruto, so they had been staying in the small house at the back of the property for servants. Tsunade had ordered Naruto to present himself to her several times, but he just sent shadow clones instead of appearing in person.

The shadow clones were a disconcerting sight most of the time, solemn faced and refusing to speak any more than they needed to. It was one of them that showed up to pay for the medical treatment to mend the arm of the ANBU that had attacked Naruto that night, tossing a bag of Ryo on the desk of the hospital receptionist before vanishing in a puff of smoke. The other clones would take missions with Anko and Yugao, but they rarely spoke while completing their tasks. All in all it was a little depressing for the pair of ANBU as they tried to make amends to Naruto, only for the clones to shrug and seemingly ignore the young women.

Jiraiya was also a slightly different person since that night, his relationship with his wife the Hokage had grown a bit strained. He still felt that Tsunade was acting like a hypocrite, even if she had decided not to press charges against Naruto for his actions at the Monument. It didn't help that Tsunade was still convinced that the CRA was the ultimate answer to the problem. He had almost struck her when she suggested ordering two female shinobi to seduce Naruto as a means of showing the boy that people cared about him. The resulting conversation, more like rant as Jiraiya yelled at his wife, was heard from the Hokage tower all the way to the front gates of the village. After that Jiraiya had refused to even talk to Tsunade, moving into the Namikaze compound with Naruto, who surprisingly allowed the old hermit to stay in the main house with him.

After her falling out with her husband and coming to realize she had made some rather large blunders where Naruto was concerned, Tsunade had attempted several times to apologize to the young blond. She had summoned him several times to her office, but each time Naruto just sent shadow clones who would just stand before her with emotionless expressions as she tried to talk to them. The fact she was unable to tell if they were the real him or not was frustrating enough, but the way they just looked at her with dead eyes before dispelling in a cloud of smoke made her feel as if she was never going to be able to make this right between them. Seeing as how Jiraiya was siding with Naruto, it was imperative to her that this situation be solved in the best possible way as quickly as possible. She really missed her husband.

For his part, Hiashi looked like someone had kicked his puppy as he went about trying to come up with all the money that would be required to pay back the Namikaze Clan. No, he wasn't sure Naruto would turn down the marriage to his daughter, but given the young man's reaction to the news, it was better safe than sorry. The fact that his relationship with his eldest daughter was now even worse than it had been was also tearing him up inside. He really hadn't meant to make Hinata think he was against her relationship with Mito, but looking back on it he could see how she would feel that way. Cursing himself for his choice of words back then, Hiashi could only pray he would get a way to make it up to her someday, if she ever gave him the chance.

Mito for her part was depressed because she felt she had hurt the only family she had in the world, even if she hadn't meant to. She had just been so excited about the thought of being with her girlfriend forever that she had forgotten to take into account how her actions and words might affect Naruto. At first she had been angry with Naruto for seemingly abandoning her, but after Jiraiya explained the situation to her she realized that wasn't the case. Since talking with Jiraiya she had tried to see the real Naruto at least once a day, but each time she spoke to one of his clones they just stated that he currently wasn't seeing any visitors before dispelling without another word. She had even taken to staying with Anko and Yugao in the Namikaze servant quarters, hoping to see the real Naruto in passing, but it hadn't worked so far. It also confused her that she felt herself attracted to the young blond man, especially since that had never happened to her before. It left her feeling as if she was betraying her girlfriend, being attracted to someone else, which had led her to avoiding Hinata as she thought about the situation.

While all that was going on, Hinata was a mess. She hadn't seen much of her girlfriend in a month because Mito was constantly trying to talk with Naruto. The loss of Mito's presence combined with the feeling that she had hurt Naruto without meaning to had left her feeling guilty and alone all the time. Even her performance on missions had begun to suffer as she was constantly distracted by thoughts of the two of them. It was getting so bad she was starting to wonder if maybe she should just break up with Mito. Honestly, she knew it wouldn't solve the problem, especially after learning why Naruto was so dead set against the marriage and use of the CRA. It's hard to feel angry at someone who refuses to force himself on you. The fact that she actually found Naruto attractive and could see herself eventually having feelings for him only added to the problem, mostly because it would be difficult to convince him her feelings were real and not an act.

Finally we have Mikoto Uchiha who felt she was the cause of the whole mess. She had never meant to hurt Naruto when she suggested the CRA as a solution, but that's exactly what she had done. Admittedly, the CRA was the perfect solution to Hinata and Mito's problem, but she had worded it wrong when she explained the situation. In fact, the whole situation had blown up in her face, leaving her feeling she was responsible for Naruto's current policy of isolation. Now she was trying to find a way out of the situation that would not require Naruto to sacrifice anything, but grant him all the rewards he deserved for the past sacrifices he had made. Sure, he may not have done much here in this world, but after hearing his story Mikoto was well aware of all he had done in his old one. It was a frustrating problem and she just hoped she could do something about it.

So, all in all, a strange darkness settled across the village even though most people had no idea what was causing the tension in the air. The only bright side of the situation seemed to be a strange red and gold bird that occasionally flow around the village. Children had taken to calling the bird Momo, though their parents didn't know where the name came from. There were even rumors that occasionally the bird would play with the children, sometimes even healing minor scrapes and cuts they got when they got hurt. No one knew where the bird came from, but most agreed it was a good omen for the village.

"Summon Naruto Namikaze to appear before me," ordered Tsunade to one of her ANBU. "Tell him I want to see the real him this time, not another clone."

"As you command," replied the ANBU, Pig as it turned out.

Pig vanished from Tsunade's office and reappeared moments later in front of the main gate to the Namikaze compound. Since the announcement of Naruto's fictitious backstory, many people had attempted to schedule meetings with him, but they had all been politely turned away. Knocking on the gate, one of Naruto's clones suddenly appeared before Pig, looking at him with an arched eyebrow.

"You need something?"

"Two things," said Pig as he kneeled in front of the clone. "I know you are just a clone, but I also know that Namikaze-sama will learn of this when you disperse. Please, Namikaze-sama, forgive me for attacking you at the Hokage Monument. I was wrong to do so and hold no hard feelings against you for it."

"The Boss will consider your words, Pig-san," stated the clone emotionlessly. "Also, please, don't kneel before me. I am just a clone and the Boss is just a regular man, not some high and mighty figure demanding forced respect. He will either earn your respect, or not."

"He has earned my respect," countered Pig, standing up. "He didn't need to pay for my medical treatment as I was at fault in the situation, but he did it anyway. That is worthy of respect and shows that Namikaze-sama is a good man at heart."

"Maybe," said the clone, looking a bit unsure of what else to say.

"As for my second reason for being here, the Hokage has requested the real Namikaze-sama to appear before her as soon as possible. She specifically stated he was not to send another clone this time."

"Understood," replied the clone, his tone hardening again. "Tell her he will be there soon."

Pig nodded before turning to leave, sensing he clone behind him disperse. Inside the house the real Naruto and several clones were currently in his office reading over several scrolls concerning both the village laws and the accursed Alliance contract. Over the last month he had been trying to find a loophole in either that would allow him to get out of the damned Alliance without harming anyone, but so far he had come up with nothing. The original Clan Heads that had written the contract had been rather thorough when creating the terms of the agreement. Short of him killing himself and Mito, there was no way to avoid marrying Hinata that wouldn't destroy her family.

He had been confused at first as to why the Hyuga giving him back the money would harm them so much, it wasn't really that much money originally. That's when he found the clause which detailed the amount of money to be returned being based on the percentage of money they had then in regards to what they had then. Basically, since his family had given them ninety percent of the money they needed to build their Clan compound, and which they had also used to become financially stable in the village, they would need to return ninety percent of their current holdings to replace it. Based on what he had been able to discover from his clones, coming up with that much money would mean the clan would be forced to sell the majority of their land and liquidate all their business holdings. It was not an acceptable outcome, especially since it would just create animosity between his family and the Hyuga.

_I'm sorry Naruto-kun. This is all my fault. This world just seemed so perfect when I found it. I wish I had picked another one, any other one._

Looking over at the red and gold phoenix perched in the window, Naruto shook his head. "It wasn't your fault, Momo. I wouldn't be surprised if this agreement had been in place back home as well. Hiashi always did look at me like I was a bomb ready to explode, which is probably why he didn't mention anything to me before the war. If things hadn't gone so far south, I probably would have ended up marrying Hinata anyway, saving him from ever having to worry about his family's holdings."

Just then he received the memories from his clone stationed at the gate and smirked. "So, Tsunade finally figured out that I would keep sending clones until she requested me personally, did she. Well, can't keep the Hokage waiting, now can I?"

_Try to remember, Naruto-kun, she didn't mean to hurt you. She was just looking out for the girls, whom she's known much longer than she has you._

"I know, Momo-chan," he admitted, standing up from his desk and making his way towards his bedroom to change into his new shinobi clothing. "I just lost my cool when I heard what they were suggesting. I'll keep my temper this time."

_Just listen to her, Naruto-kun. Now, while you are off to talk to the old hag, I'm going to go play with the kids at the park._

"Have fun, Momo-chan!" he called after her as the phoenix flew out the window.

Reaching his bedroom, Naruto stripped out of the sleeping pants and t-shirt he was wearing before heading into the bathroom for a quick shower. Several minutes later he stepped back out into his bedroom and opened the dresser drawer where his clones had put his new gear and clothing. Jiraiya had applied the Steel Skin seal on him the day after the incident at the Hokage Monument and thanks to Momo he had adapted to it over the corse of a week. His skin looked no different to the casual observer, but it was now constantly as hard as it normally was when he was channeling Nature chakra. That combined with the warmer temperature of this world had encouraged him to get some new clothes. They were nowhere near as revealing as some of the other shinobi around the village wore, but they were drastically different from what he was used to.

Pulling out a pair of black knee length shorts, an orange tinted steel mesh short sleeveless t-shirt, a black sleeveless flack jacket, and a pair of black canvas hi-top athletic shoes he began to dress. Once dressed, with his headband fastened securely around his head, Naruto started fastening on his weapons pouches and tucking various scrolls inside his vest pockets. He debated zipping up the vest, but it was too hot already today for that, so left it unzipped. Unlike the other mesh clothing his clones had found in the stores, this one was a tighter weave, meaning he didn't feel half naked when wearing it. All in all, he liked the new look even if there wasn't enough orange in it for his tastes.

"Well, better see what the hold hag wants," he murmured to himself before vanishing in a yellow flash.

Reappearing outside the Hokage Tower, Naruto was ignored by most of the people around him as they assumed he was just another clone. That was fine with Naruto considering he just was not in the mood to deal with people fawning over him thanks to his position as the head of two clans. Making his way up to Tsunade's office, Naruto noticed Hinata sitting behind the mission desk handing out assignments to several Genin teams. The dark haired beauty looked up at him, also assuming he was just a clone, and gave him a wistful smile before returning to her duties. Naruto was a bit confused by the look she gave him, but wrote it off as her feeling bad about being forced to marry him.

Stepping up to the door to the Hokage's office, Naruto knocked once before the door opened and he stepped inside. "You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade, looking a bit haggard, looked up at him with a sad smile. "I'm glad to see the real you again after so long, Naruto-san."

Naruto just nodded, accepting her words as just pleasant banter before issuing him an order. "Thank you, Hokage-sama, but what can I do for you today?"

Sighing, not happy that Naruto seemed resistant to relaxing around her, a fact that surprised her considering she hadn't known him that long, Tsunade explained. "No, I don't have a mission for you today, not a real one anyway. What I really wanted was just to talk to you. Not as the Hokage and one of her shinobi, but as two people that got off to a bad start and need to come to a better understanding of each other."

"Ahh, I see," Naruto calmly replied. "So, you tell me how sorry you are and I automatically forgive you, is that it?"

"No!" she instantly objected, though she felt her temper flaring for a moment. "I don't expect you to just roll over and take it, not again. The fact that you think that's what I expect of you is bad enough, but that's not what I want at all."

Reaching down and opening one of her desk drawers, Tsunade pulled out a bottle of sake and two dishes. Pouring a generous amount of sake in both, she offered one to Naruto with a gesture for him to take a seat. She was a bit surprised when he actually accepted both offers, pulling a chair over and then taking a seat as he accepted the sake. With another gesture she dismissed the ANBU hidden in the office, waiting for them to leave before she spoke.

"You know, I didn't want this job," she said after the last ANBU left the room. "Mito had to nearly die in order to convince me to come back. I was out of the village during Orochimaru's attempted invasion. There was an outbreak of unusual sickness in Wave Country, no one could explain the cause, but people were dying at an alarming rate. Shizune and I were sent to investigate, but things were looking bad for the people there. We were so focused on figuring out the problem that we missed the rumors about an invasion back home. It was only when Jiraiya and Mito showed up that we became aware of the problem."

Taking a sip of her sake, Tsunade looked thoughtful for a moment before she continued. "In a way it was a good thing we missed the invasion, seeing as how Orochimaru had his spies bomb the hospital right off the start. We lost a lot of healers and nurses that day, not to mention the bad position it left the village in. Orochimaru was dead, Itachi killed him when that old snake tried to give the kid a Curse seal during the invasion, but the damage was done. Sarutobi was already dead, poisoned by that damned sword Orochimaru always carried around with him. The Civilian council was trying to force Itachi and his mother to marry, wanting to force them to breed more 'pure' Uchiha. It was a mess of unbelievable proportions."

"Sounds like a bad time for everyone," commented Naruto, speaking for the first time since taking his seat.

Pouring herself some more sake, Naruto hadn't finished his yet, Tsunade nodded. "It was. The Clan Council wanted me to become the next Hokage, leaving wave to suffer their fate without me. I refused, my duty as a healer taking precedence over the needs of the village at that moment. It was only when Mito got sick that I figured out what was causing the deaths. One of Gato's ships, he was the bastard that had been trying to take over the country before Mito and her team stopped him, was leaking rare chemicals into the waters around Wave. Mixing in the waters around the ship, then being absorbed by the local fish, when the people of the village ate enough of the fish they got sick."

Tsunade finished her second dish of sake, pouring a third as she snorted. "Mito always had a big appetite, so after eating enough fish in one sitting for three people, she got sick. As it was her first meal in the village I examined her food, most of which she had thrown back up. I realized the chemicals were acting as a poison and managed to create a cure, along with instructing the local fishermen to drag Gato's ship out of the water and sealing away the chemicals. All the while Shizune were treating sick villagers and Mito."

"Sounds like you did the right thing then, but how did Mito getting sick convince you to become Hokage?"

"It wasn't her getting sick that made me change my mind," stated Tsunade with a smile. "It was what she said after the fact. As soon as she was back on her feet Mito hugged me and said, 'That's why you should be Hokage, you care about everyone, not just the villagers.'"

"I can see that," admitted Naruto, finally finishing his sake and refilling his saucer. "So, you came back to the village and fired the old Civilian Council and the old advisors?"

"Pretty much," agreed Tsunade with a devilish smile. "Oh, I threatened the shits for a bit before I did, but in the end I got rid of them all. A few of them tried to threaten to leave the village, taking their little businesses with them if they did, but I pointed out to them that the Namikaze Clan owned businesses made their's meaningless in the long run, so they shut up."

"Are my family holdings really that important to the village economy?" asked Naruto, already expecting her answer.

"Honestly, yes," she admitted with a wry grin. "If you ever manage to get control of the businesses you own in Iwa and Kumo, you will represent the single most financially powerful person in all of the Elemental Nations. At this point I'm not sure how you would pull that off, short of going to war with both countries, but anything is possible."

"I'll forego a war," Naruto said with a frown. "Considering how long those businesses have been out of my families hands, it may be a moot point to try and get them back. Do you know exactly what those businesses were?"

"Both were mining companies, mostly copper in Iwa and iron ore in Kumo," Tsunade informed him. "Last reports we had out of Iwa was that the copper was almost exhausted, but the mines in Kumo seem to be doing fine. There is also a titanium mine in Uzu, but has been inactive since the village was destroyed. The Uzumaki Clan had a secret method of extracting the raw ore from the ground without having to strip mine the land, but when they died no one knew how they did it. Without their knowledge of how to extract it in pure form, no one could afford to keep the mine open."

"I'll look into that," offered Naruto, wondering if there were any secret records kept in the Uzumaki vaults sealed under the ruins of the village. "Being able to provide titanium alloys to our allies might make for a good economic boost for my family."

"Like you need it," laughed Tsunade, "your two clans combined are the richest ones in the world, bar none."

"Yes, but I have plans for that wealth and without more money coming in, that wealth won't last forever," countered Naruto.

"Oh, you've got plans to you?" asked Tsunade, curious as to what he had in mind. "Care to share?"

Naruto thought about it a moment, then figured there was no harm in telling her a bit about what he had in mind. "My Jiraiya believed that peace was possible, if we worked for it hard enough. I plan to see his dream come true by funding hospitals and schools across the Elemental Nations where everyone, civilian and shinobi alike, will be welcomed regardless of where they come from."

"A lofty goal, Naruto," admitted Tsunade with a smile. "I won't lie, it will be a lot of work getting the other nations to accept something like that."

"Not just the Elemental Nations, but the other continents as well," clarified Naruto, watching as Tsunade's jaw dropped. "I plan on using the money my family makes to improve the entire world, not just a part of it. I know there are other continents, some with greater or lesser levels of technology, so I will use my schools to spread that knowledge everywhere."

"Holy shit, kid, that's one hell of a goal to have," the Hokage admitted, draining her sixth saucer and refilling it again. "You sure you're up for something like that?"

"I've been a shinobi all my life," answered Naruto with a smirk. "I've fought wars and I've taken lives. Now I want to do something that will help everyone, not just one village. I may not live to see the completion of my dream, but I will do my best to see it well on its way. Which is part of the reason I came here in person and didn't just send another clone."

"Oh, and why is that?"

"I've decided to accept the Hyuga contract, taking Hinata as my wife," Naruto informed her, though Tsunade could tell he wasn't happy about it. "I will also willingly enter into the CRA program, to ensure that Mito can be with the woman she loves."

"I detect a 'but' coming, so spit it out," Tsunade ordered, setting her saucer aside and leaning forward to rest her chin on her intertwined hands.

"But I doubt I will ever take any other wives," stated Naruto, no emotion present in his voice as he spoke. "I read about an old tradition, the use of a third party to carry a child when a woman could not carry a child of her own. The woman to be impregnated would be covered in a sheet, hidden from sight, as the man and his wife faced each other as he did what was needed. For all intents and purpose, the surrogate mother was a non-entity in the process, paid well for carrying the child, then given another large sum of money once she delivered the child. I will just use a variation of the technique. I know there are drugs that will cause me to have an erection whether I want to or not, so I will use a sleeping pill to fall asleep, Hinata and Mito can then cover my body in a sheet and apply the needed drug to cause a physical reaction. I will be nothing more than a donor, never taking any gratification from the act, nor participating in it as anything other than a living sex toy. This can be repeated as often as needed until Hinata is pregnant, after that the Hyuga family will be safe and I will not have been forced to rape an unwilling woman. Once the child is born I will sign over all parental rights to Mito and step aside to let them raise it as their own. At that point I can fade into the background, the child will inherit my family name and fortune, and none of them need ever see me again."

Tsunade was shocked by the cold logic of his plan. He was so convinced that he would never be loved by either young woman that he was going to sacrifice his own happiness for them. Not only that, he would be reducing himself to little better than a strap-on dick for the two girls to use while he wouldn't even be conscious. The fact he would then never seek them out again, nor his child, left Tsunade cursing Mikoto and Hiashi for causing this mess by bringing up the contract or the CRA. Hell, Naruto wasn't even going to attempt to find any other women to marry, leaving himself alone for the rest of his life. It was just too horrible a fate for someone with such heart that he wanted to help the world, but didn't seem to be able to help himself.

"Kami," moaned Tsunade, burying her face in her hands. "This isn't what I wanted, Naruto. I know we started off a little rocky, but I hoped today we could get past that and find a way for everyone to be happy."

"I will be happy," countered Naruto, though the look in his eyes clearly stated he was lying. "I'll have my dreams to keep me occupied."

"But who will love you?"

"I've finally accepted that no mater where I go, love is not in the cards for me," stated an emotionless Naruto. "I just have to accept that it is my fate to be alone. The best I can hope for is that when I finally die, someone will be there to insure I receive a proper burial, or at least destroy my body before someone can desecrate it."

Lifting her face from her hands, tears pouring from her eyes, Tsunade hated the look of cold acceptance in Naruto's eyes. "No, don't think that way, Naruto. We can find another way without you needing to give up so much."

"There is no other way," argued Naruto with a sad smile. "I've read that contract several times and it's iron clad. I can't even take a mistress, nor can Hinata, without activating the infidelity clauses that would dissolve the alliance. Old bastards that wrote it never thought about who my cheat, just that if either of them did the Hyuga would still have to give everything up. Me, I just have to hand back an old dagger, but the Hyuga, they would be ruined. So, you tell me, what other options do I have?"

Standing and bowing to Tsunade, Naruto left the office without a further word. Tsunade just sat there, watching him go, with tears pouring down her face. This wasn't how things were supposed to turn out. Talking with Naruto was supposed to give her an idea of how to make the young man happy, not listen to him basically say he had given up on anyone ever caring about him. She might not have known him for long, but Jiraiya raved to everyone about what a good man Naruto was and she had listened to every one of those stories when they were related to her by her ANBU.

Even the interaction people had with Naruto's clones had painted the young blond as an good man. Sure, the clones might not talk much, but they helped so many people without ever asking for anything in return. Just this morning she got a report of several of the clones helping put out a fire in a house, saving everyone inside even after her ANBU guards had given up the attempt. They might just be clones, but they reflected who Naruto was and it was clear that he was a man worthy of respect and love, but now he had given up on that.

_He's such a martyr sometimes._

Spinning around in on her chair Tsunade came face to face with a magnificent red and gold bird sitting on her windowsill. "I take it you are Momo?"

_Yep! Jiraiya told me that you already knew about me, so no need hiding the fact._

"The most powerful Biju in the world playing with children and healing scraped knees," laughed Tsunade as she admired the phoenix before her.

_I like kids. They're still innocent, seeing all the wonder in the world that we lost sight of as we got older. Just so you know, Naruto-kun plays with the kids as well, he just uses a powerful _Henge_ to make it look like he's one of them._

That surprised Tsunade as her ANBU assured her that Naruto hadn't left his house in weeks. Then again, he did know his father's techniques, so he was probably flashing in and out of his house when no one was watching. The part of her mind that was Hokage wanted to be angry that he was slipping past her security, but the rest of her had to admit the kid had some peace and quiet due him.

"I won't tell anyone," she promised, getting a nod from the phoenix. "I'm worried about him though. What he has planned about the schools and hospitals is really amazing, but the rest of it crushes my heart."

_Naruto-kun tends to go to extremes when he feels strongly about something. In this case he can't even see that Hinata and Mito might be able to have genuine feelings for him. He can't even see that others might as well. No, it's not that he can't, he just won't. He's been hurt so many times in the past, now he just expects it to happen again, so why bother trying anymore. I've watched the girls, they are a mess, as are Anko and Yugao because they all feel guilty about this situation. Naruto won't accept that they might care about him, seeing any caring as nothing but an act to make him happy, when in reality they really do care about him. In time, they might all fall in love with him, but he can't bring himself to see it._

Tsunade nodded, she had spoken with all four young women and they each had some degree of fondness for the young blond. "I don't know how to make him see it, not if he is determined not to."

_You can't make him do anything, at least not in his personal life. However, you could force him to do something as his Hokage, say an extended mission that just happens to include the young ladies in quesiton?_

"That has possibilities," admitted Tsunade, though she wasn't completely convinced it would help. "Would that really solve anything though, seeing as how he's convinced himself that any genuine feelings they might develop for him are nothing but sugar coated words to keep him happy?"

_I can't say for sure, but Naruto has an incredible ability to change people, so we can only hope it includes the ability to change himself._


	9. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: New Mission

Several days after his conversation with Tsunade in her office, Naruto was preparing for his new mission. Based on their conversation Tsunade had decided to send Naruto and a team to the Land of Whirlpools to investigate the ruins. On the surface it was a fact finding mission, but the reality was she wanted them to see if Naruto could find anything about reopening the titanium mines there. Considering the distance involved, Naruto would have to go personally rather than sending clones of himself. That is why he was currently sealing about a years worth of instant ramen in a storage seal.

The mission was a B-Ranked operation, mostly because of the timeframe of several weeks, but there could be a chance of upgrading it if there were any rouge shinobi present. Given what he knew of the island the old village was located on and the fact it was so isolated, he highly doubted that would be a factor. However, better safe than sorry, so he was also sealing a vast amount of weapons and supplies in other scrolls. It was unlikely that he would find anything or anyone on the island that could really threaten him, but he wasn't going to take any chances.

Jiraiya, before moving back in with his wife the day after Naruto spoke with her, had offered to come along, but Naruto declined. He already knew that Anko and Yugao were coming along, but had not been informed who his other two teammates would be. Not knowing how anyone else would pack, he made sure he had extras of everything as it was better to not need it than to need it and not have it. With that in mind, he finished sealing the last of his scrolls away in a simple backpack before he stepped outside his house and activated the blood seals to prevent anyone from sneaking inside while he was gone. Assured his house was secured, he walked towards the village's main gates to meet up with his team and start the mission.

A few minutes later he was silently cursing under his breath as he saw who his other two teammates would be. It was bad enough having Anko and Yugao along, their constant apologies to him were getting on his nerves, but now he had his other two headaches to deal with. Dressed in their decidedly skimpy mission clothes, Hinata and Mito were standing with Anko and Yugao at the gate waiting for him. Obviously the old hag was trying to get him to form some type of attachment to the young women, but he wasn't going to fall for that. No, Naruto would not form bonds with these women, feeling that anything they might do to gain his affection would just be an act. That wasn't what he wanted, not by a long shot.

"Fine," he grunted as he approached the waiting women, "you're my team for this mission. Let's just keep this professional and we'll all be fine. I will try to limit the time I am around you, to prevent my presence from causing any of you discomfort. In return I ask that you respect my privacy. Hinata-san, I'm sure you are aware that I signed the paperwork to finalize our marriage when we return, so you needn't worry about your family being harmed by my rejection of the contract. Mito-san, I have also signed the paperwork to enroll in the CRA and will be taking you as a wife in name only. I have already found a method that will allow you to have a child, Hinata, that will involve only token participation on my part, allowing you and Mito to have a child that you can raise together. All of that will be explained after we return and finalize the marriages."

All four women were looking shocked at how coldly Naruto was acting towards them. Sure, they had expected him to be less than happy about the situation, but had hoped they could get him to cheer up. Mito had planned on telling him that she didn't just want to be a token wife, but to give a relationship between them a try. Hinata was of the same mind, though she was still a little nervous about the thought of having sex with a man, even if it was Naruto. As for Anko and Yugao, they were confused about what they felt. Both were attracted to Naruto, but both knew it would be a hard path that led to his heart given his belief that any affection they showed him would just be because they were ordered to act that way towards him, which they hadn't been.

Not knowing what to say, unsure if there was any right thing to say under the circumstances, all four women followed Naruto as he took to the trees outside the village and made his way towards the coast. It was a silent journey, along with being an exhausting one for the four of them. Mito was proud of her huge reserves of stamina, but Naruto made her look like a fresh out of the Academy Genin. After an hour of breakneck speeds, the four women were requesting a rest stop, having covered in an hour what normally took four hours. Even Anko and Yugao were at their limit, even with their ANBU training. It wasn't the distance they had covered, they were used to running much farther without stopping, but not at the pace Naruto set. It was just crazy how fast he could move and they weren't capable of keeping up with him without causing themselves injury.

"We've got to rest, then slow down for the rest of the trip, Naruto-san," Yugao finally said when they stopped to rest. "We're not used to the pace you set. If you keep this up, one of us is going to get injured."

"Too late," groaned Anko, nursing several scrapes and cuts from running into branches. "I feel like I just got dragged across a cheese grater."

"I see," grunted Naruto, creating four clones that picked up the girls before Naruto and they took to the trees again.

The four women tried to object to being carried like civilians through the trees, but each secretly enjoyed the feeling of being held in Naruto's arms. If he noticed that fact, Naruto didn't show it. In that fashion they ran for another six hours, shocking his four teammates that Naruto was capable of such a feat. The fact that he had sped up once he didn't have to hold back meant they covered a day's worth of distance in just those six hours, reaching the small fishing village where they would hire a boat to take them to the Land of Whirlpools before noon. Naruto had just managed to cut their travel time in half, more than that really if you considered rest stops. Not to mention he barely looked tired when they arrived at the dock and he had his clones set the girls down before dispersing.

"I'll hire us a boat to take us to the edge of the whirlpool defenses," Naruto informed them before he headed off to the office next to the largest dock.

"Kami's Holy Panties!" exclaimed Anko, as she looked around at the others. "Did he really just cover the distance between Konoha and here in seven hours? Carrying us as he did it?"

"The proof is right in front of us," replied Hinata, stretching her legs after six hours of being carried. "I don't know anyone that could do that, not even Itachi and he's considered one of the fastest Jonin in the village."

"He's not even tired, or he's damned good at hiding it," added Yugao as she helped Anko treat a few scraps that hadn't healed yet. "I've had to carry comrades after they got injured on missions, but never for that long or that fast, he's a machine."

"No," Mito said watching Naruto in the distance hiring them a boat, "he's not a machine. He's just a man with a lot of power at his disposal. If he was a machine he would have just forced us to keep up with him, but instead he sacrificed his own body to make sure we were uninjured. I watched his eyes when you said you were hurt, Anko. Till then he was just going to let us rest, but once you said you had gotten hurt, that's when he stepped in to help us. He was protecting us, even if it meant he had to suffer."

"Damn, I didn't know he was going to do something like that, or I wouldn't have said anything," protested Anko, looking ashamed of herself now. "I was just teasing him, for Kami's sake."

Looking at Anko, Hinata shook her head sadly. "Naruto-kun does not seem to see that, Anko-san. He only sees someone hurt and then he acts. We all need to be careful around him right now, because I'm afraid of what he would do if we were in real danger."

The other three girls looked nervous at hearing that, but nodded in agreement as Naruto walked back over to them, saying, "We got lucky. The old man over there says all his boats are out, but there's a fisherman going out for some night fishing that will be passing right past where we need to get off. Says we would be able to hitch a ride, if we help load his nets. I already sent some clones that way, so we need to get over there."

Without saying another word, Naruto turned and headed towards where their ride was waiting. The girls were more than a little saddened by the fact Naruto seemed to feel he couldn't talk to them, but couldn't say they were all that surprised by it. In short order Naruto had the nets loaded, actually laughing and joking with the boats captain as they set sail, something that depressed the girls even more. The fact that Naruto could be so happy and carefree around others, but not them, had all of them determined to break through his emotional barriers.

"Been a long time since I've seen an Uzumaki around these parts," the old captain said to Naruto as they cleared the dock.

"How did you know I'm an Uzumaki?" asked Naruto, a little concerned that the old man might be more than he seemed.

He needn't have worried, seeing as how the old man turned a gobsmacked face to him, saying, "You're an Uzumaki, too? Damn! Never seen a blonde Uzumaki before. No, I recognized your girlfriend over there. Looks just like my dear Kasumi, Kami rest her soul."

"You were married to an Uzumaki, sir?"

The old man nodded, looking happy at the memory. "Met my Kasumi when I was seventeen and out on my first solo fishing trip. Like a damn fool I Ignored my father's warnings and steered too close to the whirlpools. Before I knew it my boat was going down and I was sure I was a goner. I woke up the next day looking up at the most beautiful girl I had ever seen, Kasumi. She found my damn near dead body floating in the water near the shore and took me home to heal me up. Couldn't get rid of me after that and we got married a year later. We lived happy, working this very boat together for five years, least till them damned cowards attacked the island."

"What happened, sir?" asked Mito, having overheard the story.

With misty eyes, the old man smiled at her before answering. "I was doing a favor for Kasumi's uncle, running his little granddaughter and her guards to the mainland. Kasumi had stayed with her family, expecting our first little one, she was. I had dropped off my passengers, still remember that little lass smiling up at me as I said goodbye, and was getting ready to sail back to the island when I saw the first of the ships sail in. Must of been a hundred of them, if not more, cutting off all access to the island. We weren't stupid, we knew what was gonna happen with that many ships and we were right. When I finally got back to the island a month later, weren't no trace of any living Uzumaki anymore. Oh, I found my Kasumi, but that just meant I got to lay her to rest the way she wanted. I laid a lot of Uzumaki to rest over the next two weeks, though I couldn't tell you anymore how many it was. Ain't stepped food back on that island since, don't imagine I will as long as I'm alive. Won't tell anyone how to get passed the whirlpools, so when my time comes I've asked for my ashes to be spread in the water near them, let a part of me rest near Kasumi at least."

"When the time comes, tell them to find me, old man," Naruto said, looking at the old man with a sad smile. "I'll make sure you get tucked in next to your wife, believe it."

With a look of surprise on his face, the old man bowed to Naruto, saying, "Thank you, son. It does my heart good to know I'll be with her again someday."

It didn't take long for them to reach the whirlpools, which the old man navigated around as if they weren't even there, meaning Naruto and the girls got dropped of in the shallows. With a wave of his hand, the old man turned his boat around and made his way out to sea leaving a thoughtful group behind him. It had been one of his worries that they would run across the remains of the long dead Uzumaki, but now he knew someone had cared enough to lay them to rest. In fact, as they left the beach they could already see a large area of land that seemed to be nothing but burial markers. Naruto turned to look at them, leading the women silently behind him.

There were hundreds of the markers, each a slab of stone that had a name and date carved on it. At first it was confusing, but then Hinata pointed out it must be their first name and the day they were laid to rest as the dates covered several weeks. It was surprising to realize that old man had known the entire clan by name, but more surprising to see how much time and effort he had put into laying the Uzumaki clan to rest. At the very center of the markers, with space enough beside it for another grave someday, stood a white stone marker. It was the only marker with two names on it, and a short message.

"Kasumi Sasaki and Baby Sasaki," Mito read, kneeling down to clean the stone off. "I'll love you both forever."

"I don't care what you do, or where you go in life, Naruto Uzumaki, you WILL keep that promise," commanded Hinata, tears running from her eyes as she picked weeds from around the stone.

"I will," whispered Naruto, wiping tears from his own eyes. "He deserves that much after what he did for our family."

Naruto may not have noticed that he included the girls when he said 'our family,' but they sure did. It fave them all a little glimmer of hope as they walked out of the graveyard and headed towards the ruins of Uzushiogakure, the shinobi village on the island that had also been the main population center. Climbing up through the trees to the top of a stretch of tall hills, all five visitors were surprised by the sight below them. Naruto had read about the village in Jiraiya's notebooks, but that was nothing compared to what he was seeing below him. It was both amazing and heartbreaking.

"Kami wept," muttered Yugao, falling to her knees as she looked at the village below her.

The entire valley below them was covered in the ruins of numerous tall buildings, most of which were anywhere from six to twenty stories tall. Naruto had seen similar building in Ame, but they were different, harder and crueler looking. These building had been covered in artwork, seals, and geometric patterns that made them look majestic. Now they just looked sad, at least to Naruto. Cutting down the middle of the valley was a river that in the light of the setting sun looked as if it was filled with blood. It was just too much too look at.

"Let's setup camp here," he finally said, turning away from the ruins and pulling off his backpack.

The girls had rather hoped Naruto would forget about his promise to leave them once camp was setup, but he didn't. No sooner was the last of the tents assembled before he vanished, leaning not a trace of his location behind. It wasn't until dawn and after they had packed their tents back away that they saw him again. Sitting on the hilltop and staring at the ruins below. He didn't even say good morning, instead he just stood up and made his way down into the ruins. This would be the pattern for the next week.

Naruto spoke as little as possible, barely saying a word unless it was absolutely required. The girls all tried to get him to speak to them, but it was like trying to catch smoke in your hands, just never as easy as you thought it should be. Making it worse was Naruto's resumed usage of shadow clones to cover more territory. You could just never be sure if you were talking to the real him or another of his clones, so the accepted practice was to act like the clones were Naruto and just keep talking. Whether or not Naruto cared was debatable, though Mito did find extra towels on he sleeping bag when she mentioned she hadn't brought any with her.

It wasn't until the tenth day after leaving Konoha that things changed. Naruto had headed off towards the western end of the valley to examine some of the smaller buildings there. The girls had split into two teams, with Anko and Hinata taking the northeast side of the valley while Mito and Yugao took the southeast. All five of them had headsets, not that Naruto usually turned his on except at the top of the hour to check in before turning it off again. Part of this was his insistence that it would spare them his company, and part was because he could only take so much girl talk before he wanted to pull his hair out. So, it was a bit of a shock when he turned his radio on and heard Mito calling his name over and over again.

"Please, don't turn your radio off before you hear this Naruto!" she was saying, sounding panicked. "Please, please, please, listen to me before you turn your radio off!"

"What's wrong, Mito?" he asked, cutting into her rambling.

"Thank Kami!" shouted the girl. "We lost contact with Hinata and Anko right after your last checkin. One moment the were saying they had just found a large opening, then they were gone. We haven't been able to reach them since and we can't fine any trace of them! Please, I know you hate us, but we need your help! Please, Naruto, help me find Hinata!"

"I'm on my way," he shouted, creating a virtual army of clones to follow behind him as he surface of the river to save time.

It took him only a few minutes to reach Mito and Yugao's location, at which point the now sobbing young redhead glomped him, burying her face in his chest. While Naruto, looking rather surprised by Mio's proximity, tried to calm the redhead down, Yugao was giving him the details. Approximately an hour before they had just heard Naruto give his standard 'I'm alive and well' announcement before signing off. After that Hinata had discovered a large opening to the north of their location and announced that she and Anko were going to check it out. That was the last they heard from either Hinata or Anko and all attempts to find them had been fruitless.

"You weren't using any tracking markers?"

"No, we were," answered Yugao. "We were using type C-3 markers while Anko and Hinata were using type B-2, so we could tell the difference if we crossed paths by accident."

Looking confused, Naruto admitted, "I don't know those, are they new?"

Kneeling down, Anko made two different types of marks in the dirt, one looked like a cats paw with and the other like a bird's claw. "Oh, I recognize those. In my world we called them Delta and Epsilon type markers. Which is which?"

"I forget things weren't exactly the same where you came from," apologized Yugao. "They were using the bird's claw markings."

"Got it," Naruto said, sending his clones off to examine the area Hinata and Anko had disappeared in. Then lifting Mito's chin with his hand, Naruto smiled at the crying girl. "I don't hate you, Mito. I don't have it in me to hate anyone, not really. I'm just trying to not come between you what you and Hinata have, ok?"

"No, it's not ok, Naruto-kun," whined the girl, burying her face in his chest again and hugging him tightly. "You're part of our family! How can we be happy if you aren't there with us? We want you to be with us, don't you get it?"

"I wish I could believe that," he whispered, more to himself than to Mito, but she heard it anyway.

"I will find a way to make you believe it, Naruto-kun, that's a promise," swore the girl, hugging him even tighter, not seeing the sad look on his face.

It took about twenty minutes for the clones to find the general area the two girls had vanished from. Making their way to the location, the three shinobi found a large circular building that was partially buried in the rubble of two other buildings. At first you would thing the domed roof was just a hill that had been paved over, at least until you noticed the writing around the outer rim of the dome. Clearing the accumulated debris of several decades, Naruto finally read what was written there.

"Hall of Justice," he read, wondering what that could have meant he looked up at Mito and Yugao. "A courthouse or something like that?"

"Possibly," agreed Yugao, looking around for an entrance. "Over there, looks like an opening."

Making their way over the tree of them found a set of large stone doors. The doors were probably fifteen feet tall by ten wide, each. From the look of the dirt around the bottom of them, they had been forced open recently, meaning this was most likely where Hinata and Anko had disappeared. Using a small burst of chakra, Naruto pried the doors open, noticing in the process that they were covered in numerous seals and a short message.

"Justice is blind. Justice fails in the face of a lie. Truth shall set you free," he read out loud as he opened the doors enough for them to enter.

Not thinking anything more of it, the three of them stepped inside. However, the moment they stepped inside the remarkably intact building, the doors slammed closed behind them. To make a bad situation worse, seals started glowing all around them and they all suddenly found they were unable to mold chakra. For the girls it wasn't much of an issue, but for Naruto it was like his body was suddenly made of lead. He crashed to the ground, for the first time remembering that Momo had long ago told him gravity was slightly higher in this world.

"I must have been channeling a small amount of chakra to my muscles to make up the difference," he explained to the two concerned women when they asked what was wrong. "Gravity is stronger here than in my world. I probably did it without even thinking."

"Will you be ok?" asked Mito, helping him to his feet.

"Sure, it's just like training back home, I'll deal with it and overcome it in time," he assured her with a smile. "For now, we've got to find Hinata and Anko."

Unable to use chakra, they could not unseal any of the torches Naruto had sealed away, but Yugao adapted by taking off her jacket and tearing it into strips. Naruto was a bit flustered to see her in just her see-through mesh undershirt, but ignored it as best he could as he watched her strike a kunai against the stone of the door to create sparks. It took her a few tries, but she managed to catch a strip of cloth on fire, which she then picked up with the kunai to use as a makeshift torch. The cloth wouldn't last long, but they hoped it would be long enough to find their missing teammates.

They were on their fifth strip of cloth when they finally entered a large open room at the center of the building. Much to their relief, especially Mito, Hinata and Anko were sitting in the middle of the room around a glowing white pillar. They enjoyed a rather happy reunion, before getting down to business. Over the course of the last hour, almost two hours now, Hinata and Anko had been looking for a way out. So far they had come up empty as it seemed there was only one way in or out of the building, through the large stone doors. Without their chakra they had been unable to open the massive doors, so had fallen back to the one light source in the whole place.

"We were afraid," admitted Anko, looking a bit ashamed at herself for saying it. "I honestly thought we might die in here if you didn't find us. Now that you are here though, I'm afraid we all might die."

"I won't let that happen, even if I'm also afraid," Naruto said, looking surprised that he had admitted he was afraid. "I didn't mean to say that, but couldn't stop myself."

"It's this place," Hinata explained, looking around the faintly illuminated room. "We noticed it right away, you can't lie in this building, not even to yourself."

Remembering the seals they had seen activate when they entered, Naruto wondered if that was the true meaning of the writing on the door. "I think the seals we activated are the cause, though they were way beyond anything I've ever seen before."

"But the doors said truth would set us free," Mito said looking confused. "If all we can speak is the truth in here, should we be free to leave?"

Naruto thought about that, giving up and sitting down on the floor, his legs no longer able to hold himself up. "I hate being weak. It reminds me of when I was a little kid and people used to beat me. Crap! I didn't mean to tell you that. I never wanted any of you to know I used to get beaten when I was a kid."

Hinata was shocked to hear that Naruto had been beaten as a child, but she also noticed that the glowing pillar had gotten brighter when he told them that. "Why were you beaten, Nauto-kun?"

Looking like he was fighting himself, Naruto tried not to answer, but in the end he had no choice. "I never knew when I was little, it was only after I graduated from the Academy that I found out it was because my father sealed the Kyubi inside me."

"Oh shit!" exclaimed everyone, even Hinata as she watched the pillar grow a little brighter.

"Fox is out of the bag now," groaned Naruto, looking down at the floor worried that the girls would hate him now.

"My father was going to seal it in me until my mom made him seal it in her," stated Mito, stepping over and sitting next to Naruto. "Sure, I didn't know that until Granny told me, but I've thought about what my life could have been like when I was little if dad had won that argument."

"We don't care if you've got a demon sealed inside you, Naruto-kun," Anko said as she sat on Naruto's other side. "Hell, my old sensei raped me as he was branding one of his Curse Seals on my neck, so I know all about having a shitty life."

"You never told us he raped you, Anko!" shouted Yugao, looking worried for her friend. "You said you didn't remember anything from before you got the seal."

"I lied," answered Anko. "Well, sort of lied. I don't remember anything from before he branded me, but I remember him suddenly on top of me laughing like a madman as he pulled away from my neck, all the while he was thrusting into me as I screamed. Maybe I was willing before he branded me, but I wasn't after he did. All I could remember was leaving the village with my kind and caring sensei, then suddenly I was in a shitty ass cave as he was holding me down and forcing himself on me. He finished, laughing the whole time, then climbed off me pulling up his pants and telling me what a disappointment I was. He walked out after that, never looking back. The last memory I have before being found by a team of ANBU was of him laughing as I passed out. I never told anyone that before."

Hinata, torn between comforting Anko and watching the pillar, finally voice her theory. "I think the pillar here represents the amount of truth we need to speak before we are free. It has gotten brighter each time we've spoken an important truth."

She paused for a moment, then summoning up her courage she looked around the group. "I love Mito, but I think I could fall in love with Naruto as well. I've been so torn up about it since I met him that I didn't know what to do. I even debated killing myself to keep him from feeling like he was being forced into marrying me. I didn't because I couldn't imagine leaving Mito and I didn't want to make Naruto feel like he cause my death."

Suddenly blushing like mad Hinata suddenly blurted out, "That and I keep dreaming about what it would be like to have sex with the both of them at the same time."

"Wow!" drawled Yugao. "That would be rather hot, especially since Naruto is hung like a horse. I hope I can join in sometime."

"Me too," admitted Anko, blushing as she said it. "Naruto treated me nice, nicer than anyone normally does in the village when I'm not wearing my ANBU mask. I've kind of had a crush on him ever since."

"Me too," admitted the other three girls.

"I was attracted to him the moment I saw him eating ramen with Itachi," Mito said, blushing. "I know he's supposed to be my cousin, or brother, something like that, but I don't really care about that so much as I just want to see if we can make a relationship work between us. That and I really like how it feels when he holds me in his arms."

"Since my boyfriend Hyate died during Orochimaru's invasion I haven't really thought about any other men," whispered Yugao. "The night we stayed at Naruto's house, when he was asleep and I stared at his body while undressing him, he pulled me into his arms at some point and I cried. It wasn't because I was sad, but because I felt safe again for the first time since Hyate died. I think I started to fall in love with you that night, Naruto-kun. I felt so bad for you when we found out about the whole mess with the alliance contract and the CRA, but secretly I wanted to be one of your wives. I wanted to wake up feeling that safe every morning."

Naruto, who had be silent since the girls started their confessions, was trying to absorb what he was hearing. His head said not to believe what they were saying, even if he knew it was the truth thanks to the seals in the building, but his heart wanted to believe them. Still, they could not make an honest declaration unless he told them the whole truth about himself. Mustering up the courage to speak, he looked around at the girls now sitting near him and sighed. This would be the make or break moment for any hope of a relationship he might have with any or all of them.

"I no longer contain the Kyubi," he finally said, looking sad as he spoke. "His name was really Kurama and he was probably the best friend I ever had, even if he was a pain in the ass when I was younger. The only way to win the war was to seal a creature called the Jubi inside myself. Things didn't go as planned though, and I ended up combining the Jubi with bits and pieces of chakra from the other eight Biju, my own chakra, and a lot of Nature chakra. It changed the Jubi into the Junibi, the Twelve-tailed Phoenix, or Momo as she calls herself. That's why I had to leave my world, I had too much chakra for my world to support, so I came here."

"That's the bird that's been flying all over the village, playing with the kids and healing them, the most powerful Biju in existence!" exclaimed Anko, smirking as she did. "Not only that, but the most powerful creature is a girl! Yeah, girls rock!"

"You so didn't say that," groaned Yugao, palming her face. "Granted, I agree completely, but still."

"You don't hate me because I didn't tell you about Momo?" asked Naruto, still a bit worried.

"Not at all," Hinata said with a grin. "I watched her playing peek-a-boo with a toddler in the park one day, it was the cutest thing I've ever seen. Can we meet her?"

"I can't talk to her right now, no chakra," explained Naruto, starting to feel like things might be looking up. "I'll introduce you all when we get out of here."

"That is so cool," Mito said as she snuggled up to Naruto's side, pulling one of his arms around her. "It will be like getting another member of the family."

"Screw anyone that can't tell the difference between a scroll and a kunai," added Yugao with a smile as she move over behind Naruto and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I could never hate you for something like that, I like you too much for it to even be a consideration."

Nodding her head and snuggling into Naruto's other side, puling his other arm around her waist Anko added, "Ditto, Naruto-kun. If you can deal with my past, I'll never leave your side."

Hinata smiled, seeing the pillar was almost a blinding white light now, laid down with her head in Naruto's lap, smiling up at him. "You are Naruto, the man I want to marry, not for the sake of a piece of paper or any amount of gold, but because you are a good man with a wonderfully large heart."

"And dick, don't forget the dick," added Anko, getting a swat to the back of the head from Yugao.

"That too, but it's just a bonus," admitted Hinata, causing Naruto to blush even worse than Anko's comment had caused.

"Thank you, all of you," whispered Naruto, tears forming in his eyes as he finally accepted that he could be loved in this world.

"Justice is served," boomed a voice, causing all of them to jump to their feet, noticing that their chakra was back now. "Go in peace, young Namikaze."


End file.
